Mombasa County cracks down on hotels,restaurants after cholera outbreak fears

The Mombasa County government on Wednesday begun a major crackdown on hotels and eateries without health clearance certificates in Likoni constituency, following a cholera outbreak in the region.

The operation was conducted in the afternoon by county health officers after huge outcry from the city residents.

However most of the hotels and eateries owners faulted the exercise saying it was “marred with favoritism”.

“It has become difficult for us to do business because the county government has shut down our restaurants despite having met all the necessary requirements to be allowed to operate,” said Faudh Ali, a restaurant owner.

Another hotel owner Abdul Hazeez Noor questioned the motive behind the exercise alleging that the health officers were accepting bribes from select hotel owners.

“If it’s indeed true that the exercise is meant to contain the spread of cholera, why is it that the owners of the hotels who bribed the health officers are operating while our businesses are shut down,” asked Noor.

Mombasa County Government director of communications Richard Chacha, however, dismissed the allegations saying that the exercise was conducted in full accordance with the law.

“We have received the complaints from the hoteliers and we are reviewing them. But I can assure you that the operation was conducted impartially. We shut down the joints without valid licenses and re-opened those that have met the requirements like having a copy of a health clearance certificate and a letter of no objection from NEMA,” said Chacha.

This comes after one person died last week in Shikaadabu, Likoni after being infected with cholera.

Report by Asha Bekidusa