Face mask vendors rendered jobless after mandatory directive is lifted

Facemask vendors in Narok County have decried the lifting of the mandatory wearing of masks as it has severely affected their business.

The hawkers who positioned themselves in strategic points in the town and made profits amounting to hundreds of shillings on a single day said they will have to look for an alternative business to earn a living.

Jennifer Karuri, 41 years old, is a single mother of four who has been hawking facemasks in Majengo estates and Narok town for the last eight months.

She said the business was well paying as in a single day she would make a profit of over Ksh 500.

“I moved to Narok from Nanyuki last year due to domestic violence with the hope of finding a haven for my children in Narok town. Hawking face masks was the only easy business I could venture into as it requires little capital to start,” she recalled.

She revealed that on a good day she sold up to two boxes of masks which would give her Sh. 500 profit per box while on slow days she would only sell a single box.

Karuri confessed that her greatest fear is the loss she would undergo since she has stocked masks at home. “I hope to clear my stock and find an alternative business venture to be able to provide for my children,” she said

Another mask vendor, James Munyao appreciated the fact that Covid-19 prevalence was going down but lamented that he would be forced to change his business.\“I stationed myself in front of major supermarkets, banks or government offices where people could not enter without a mask. This made me sell hundreds of masks in a single day,” he said.

According to the Narok Chamber of Commerce Chairman David Mpatiany, Narok town has over 50 mask vendors who will be forced to venture into alternative businesses to earn a living.

“The Ksh 5 profit they used to get from a single mask was a lot of money as they would sell hundreds of pieces per day,” he said.