‘Kaunjika’ vendors moveout of Lilongwe streets

Second hand clothing (kaunjika) vendors who had thronged the Lilongwe old town streets have moved back to the Tsoka Flea Market following the formation of a committee set up to oversee the interest of all kaunjika sellers in the city.

Recently, vendors in Lilongwe moved onto the streets selling all sorts of items from agricultural produce, second hand clothes, groceries as well as kitchen equipment.

This move led to other vendors, especially those plying their trade in the Tsoka market, to stop paying market fees to the city council.

But in a move which has astounded other vendors, the second hand clothes traders have decided to go back to the markets.

Former vendors chairperson James Yelayela Soko and current chairperson George Banda confirmed in an interview that kaunjika traders are back in the market.

“This is a very good development because other vendors might borrow a leaf from the kaunjika sellers and go back into the designated markets without the usual running battles that characterise any operation organised to take the kaunjika sellers back into markets,” said Soko.

He said the kaunjika sellers might have sensed that after elections they might be forced out of the markets and may find their plots taken up by other traders.

Currently, the vendors remaining in the streets include those selling second hand shoes, agriculture produce, groceries and kitchen utensils.