Kakamega Governor Fernandes Barasa has revoked a ban on open-air cooking and food hawking following an outcry from the public.
The ban was imposed by the Acting County Executive Committee Member for Health, Peninah Mukabane, through a letter to the public dated Wednesday, January 15, 2025.
In the letter, Mukabane said the ban was meant to protect public health and minimise the risk of an outbreak of foodborne diseases.
The letter had prohibited open-air cooking, open-air displays, the sale of cooked food, and food hawking in markets, trading centres, urban areas, and in public events.
The ban was to take effect immediately, with orders given to public health officers to immediately implement the directive through guidelines and regulations.
The CECM said she was just implementing and enforcing the Public Health Act CAP 242 and the Food, Drugs, and Chemical Substances Act CAP 254.
She said the county was to provide alternative places for the affected traders where they can construct stalls to operate from and would be required to comply to set minimum conditions in order to be allowed to continue selling food substances.
“It is not that we are restricting them from selling totally, but we are telling them to sell under hygienic conditions and ensure they get medical certificates because you might be having some diseases and you are handling food, so you will be endangering the lives of others,” she explained.
However, while dismissing the ban, Governor Barasa asked the traders and business community to ensure they obtain licenses and adhere to health and safety guidelines.
“As Kakamega County, we consider the welfare of our traders, and I would like to tell our business people that you are free to do business. As your governor, I revoke the ban. What we want for our business people is that when you get licenses to do business, ensure you adhere to proper health protocols. If we have cleanliness and good health, I don’t have a problem with you traders doing open-air selling of your products,” he explained.
By Moses Wekesa
