The national government has suspended the sale of miraa and muguka in Lamu county to curb the spread of coronavirus.
County commissioner Irungu Macharia on Wednesday directed all miraa and muguka sellers to close their shops until the coronavirus menace is sorted out.
Macharia, who was speaking in Lamu town said the decision was informed by the high risk of transmission of the Covid-19 virus while transporting or handling the commodity.
He noted that miraa traders have a tendency of crowding around a particular place when miraa consignments arrive from upcountry.
He said the government wasn’t taking any chances and that banning the trade would ensure any possible spread of Covid-19 via the commodity was nipped in the bud.
“I hereby ban the sale of miraa and muguka in Lamu with immediate effect. The ban also extends to the importation of miraa to Lamu from other counties as has been the norm. All selling joints must hereby close with immediate effect. All this is to keep coronavirus at bay. Defiance will be met with arrests and prosecutions,” Macharia said.
The chairperson of the Lamu Miraa and Muguka Traders Association Ibrahim Kamanja termed the ban the unfair and unwarranted, considering it is the major source of livelihood for those involved.
He said many of the traders had already adopted safety measures to combat coronavirus including washing their hands before and after attending to buyers and keeping their selling joints adequately fumigated and sanitised.
Kamanja asked the government to reconsider the suspension and allow the business to continue.
“They can’t do this to us now. What are we supposed to eat and survive on? After I have closed my shop and go to my house, what happens to my family? How do they eat and survive? This so unfair,” Kamanja said.
Edited by Henry Makori