- In January 2019, the 26-acre park was closed down for renovation. It was opened on October 20.
- In March last year, it was closed due to Covid-19 outbreak.
After months of calling for the reopening of the Mama Ngina Waterfront Park, traders are decrying low business after resuming work.
In January 2019, the 26-acre park was closed down for renovations.
President Uhuru Kenyatta invested Sh460 million for the regeneration of the park, which included among other things an amphitheatre, Kilindini Cultural Centre, ablution blocks and two main gates.
The park was opened in October that year for Mashujaa Day celebrations but was closed thereafter to allow the contractor to finish the project.
In December, the park was reopened to the public but in March last year when Covid-19 struck, the park was closed again to the public.
Early this month, the National Assembly Trade, Industry and Cooperatives Committee summoned the county government of Mombasa and the Ministry of Health to explain the closure.
For 19 years, Dzombo Dukwe Chikoko has been selling cassava crisps, famously known as kachiri, at the waterfront.
The 35-year-old, who started doing business at the park when he was still a teenage boy, told the Star that things have now turned from bad to worse.
“We were hopeful that things would be good, but we are still in problems. The establishment of a police post in this park is scaring away visitors, who are arrested for flouting Covid-19 protocols,” Chikoko said.
Idd Salimu, 34, a palm fruits (madafu) seller, said life has become hectic for him, his wife and three kids who depend on his business.
Previously, Salimu said, he used to make between Sh8,000 and 15,000 on a busy weekend, but currently, he cannot raise Sh2,000.
"I have been doing this business for the past 13 years now. This is the most difficult moment I have had to endure," he said.
He said the closure of the park to curb the spread of Covid-19 affected their businesses drastically.
Fridah Mutava, who operates a food kiosk within the park, said the directive not to allow tuk tuks into the park, has reduced the number of local and foreign tourists to the park.
“I wish they could allow them to come inside. Some customers find it too hectic to walk all the way from the gates," Mutava said.
The traders now want the government to give them funds that will cushion them to deal with the tough economic times they are experiencing.
Edited by Henry Makori