By Viola Kosome and Victor Omondi
Lwang’ni beach hotels, one of Kisumu’s famous fish joints hosting more than 30 makeshift stalls, have been brought down.
The 30-year-old establishment was demolished on Tuesday night to pave way for the construction of a new road leading to the Kisumu port that is currently under renovation.
The Sh2.5 billion port facelift is expected to revive lake transport and improve on the blue economy. The Kenya Railways Corporation had issued a one month notice to the traders to vacate the premise.
According to Lwang’ ni Beach Management Unit chair David Ouma, the notice had not yet expired.
“Yes we had the notice but we expected that it would have expired in August but we are surprised on what has happened,” he said.
President Uhuru Kenyatta, who has made three impromptu visits to the port in the past two months, is expected to host Presidents Yoweri Museveni (Uganda), Felix Thsisekedi (DRC) and Paul Kagame (Rwanda) in its commissioning next month.
Yesterday, Kisumu Deputy governor Mathews Owili said the demolitions were carried out after wide consultations with the stakeholders.
