Nakuru traders counting losses.

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Traders at the proposed Nakuru bus park are counting losses running into millions of shillings after their stalls were demolished by the County government.

The county enforcement officers descended on the structures at dawn on Saturday and pulled them down them down, triggering protest from the traders.

The traders who were way on a long Easter break, arrived in the morning on Tuesday ready for their routine businesses but were shocked to find their stalls had been destroyed and the debris scattered on the streets.

As police officers lobbed teargas canisters at a crowd that had a field day looting property from the destroyed business premises.

However, county governor Lee Kinyanjui in a swift rejoinder said his administration was repossessing public land to facilitate infrastructure development. 

He said the Nakuru bus park land which had been leased to an individual had reverted to the public for construction of a modern bus terminus. 

 Kinyanjui said the occupier, who was using the parcel of land as a parking yard, had been informed about plans to construct the new bus terminus and issued with a notice to vacate. Instead, the governor noted, efforts to access the land had been thwarted by hired goons. 

The county officers said they had instructions to remove the structures from the land as they were illegal.

But the traders said they were unaware of any eviction notice and accused the county government of stifling small businesses.