Street dogs harassing food vendors in Kitengela

Street food vendors in Kitengela want dog owners in the town to lock up their canines.

The traders are accusing the dog owners of intentionally releasing their dogs in the evenings – to go out and scavenge for food.

Once released, the dogs often target sellers of mutura, boiled or roasted maize, soup, yams, sweet potato – among other food items.

A number of traders told Wananchi Reporting that their work is often divided between serving customers and guarding their foods from the mongrels.

Stanley Mwangi, who sells chicken, told Wananchi Reporting that the number of dogs keep increasing by the day.

“The dogs troop to the food markets around evening time – and extend into the night. We don’t know where they come from,” said Stanley.

“It’s like the dogs are released from some hole late in the evening to come out here and scavenge for food,” added Stanley.

Another trader, Tom Kamau, told Wananchi Reporting that he has to arm himself with a stick to keep away the dogs.

“The dogs are very stubborn. They don’t even move when you hit them,” said Kamau.

On her part, Ms. Monica Akinyi, who cooks mashed potatoes, eggs and samosas, told Wananchi Reporting that they work in constant fear.

“You never know. One of the dogs could be infected with rabies, which can be deadly should you or your customer get bitten,” she said – adding that the dogs even harass children.

"Most of my food is eaten by the children. By this hour, I am supposed to have sold all my food, but now see, all these potatoes are still lying here because no parent will send their child out because of the dogs.

“We are asking the County Government of Kajiado to do something about these dogs,” said Akinyi.

“Our county officials see these dogs crisscrossing the streets all the time, even when they are out here collecting taxes from us, but they intentionally turn a blind eye on the issue,” said Akinyi.

The laws state that anyone who owns a dog should keep it locked up, feed it within their respective areas, and have them vaccinated.

Meanwhile, street food traders in various places in Kitengela, including along old Namanga road, are having to be creative to try and contain the dog menace.

Others are now having to employing minders to guard the foods or the kitchen itself.