By: Kebba Mamburay
Officers of the Police Intervention Unit (PIU), on Thursday 24th April 2018, cleared the stalls of the vendors who sell within the vicinity of Westfield round-about.
According to some of the vendors, the operation of the Officers took place at midnight.
Fatoubintou Jallow, a vendor who sell fruits at the round-about near the ‘Alvihag’ Supermarket, said the PIU officers destroyed her table and the fruits she had to sell, without notification. The dismayed woman said she has been selling there for quite some time now; that she has no other means of getting money to buy fruits and sell again after the Officers destroyed her table and goods. She said they should have been notified or relocated instead of destroying their stalls and fruits.
Yankuba Barry whose shop is located by the fence of the Westfield clinic told this reporter that the incident happened in his absence; that when he came to work in the morning of the aftermath of the incident, he found that the padlock to his shop was destroyed. Barry said he is married with four School going children and earns his livelihood from the destroyed shop.
Eevn “Nopal” and Newspaper vendors, have not been spared. Most of them who spoke to this paper, said they have been asked to move away from where they sell because it is close to the road and also interrupts the traffic. They indicated to this reporter that they are the breadwinners of their families and this was their means of survival.
The Police PRO David Kujabi when contacted, said he was on leave but referred this reporter to the KMC PRO Fatoumatta Sillah who could not be reached after several attempts to get her on telephone.
