Campaigns are coming, so move along

DAR ES SALAAM: LET us be honest: some of our roads have become obstacle courses.

Not because of potholes, but because of hawkers and petty traders who seem to have declared independence from the market stalls and decided the middle of the road is a better business plan.

It is entrepreneurial spirit, yes just misdirected onto the pavement and every inch of available (and unavailable) roadside. Dear hawkers, we love your energy. We respect your hustle.

We understand you are trying to earn an honest living. But does your stall really need to be hugging the tarmac, where motorists drive?

When pedestrians have to take detours into oncoming traffic just to avoid stepping on tomatoes or socks-for-sale, we are no longer doing commerce, we are simply playing with chaos.

Let us take a deep breath and face the facts. We are entering campaign season.

That is right. The season where microphones, megaphones and motorcades all come out to play. Political rallies are about to descend like a seasonal allergy and that is loud, colourful, unavoidable.

Every party will be needing the streets, not just for dancing and declarations, but also for actual movement of people.

Now imagine trying to squeeze a campaign convoy, 500 supporters, 5 drummers and a street food stall selling fried fish all into one narrow road.

What do you get? Traffic, tempers, maybe even a riot over spilled groundnuts. Not ideal.

What is worse is that during these campaigns, when emotions run higher than fuel prices, we have seen a few people mistake political enthusiasm for hooliganism and this will not be tolerated.

We have witnessed some “supporters” turning into looters, treating roadside stalls like self-service supermarkets with no intention of paying, of course. So.

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Here is the plea: hawkers, please clear the roads. You don’t want to become the collateral damage in the chaos of political theatre and we don’t pray for this.

Pack up your goods from the walk-lanes, the main roads and every nook you have turned into a retail outlet. Let us bring some sanity back to our cities and towns. Let the pavements breathe. Let the roads move.

To the general public and that is yes, you with the painted face and vuvuzela and that is please campaign with your brain intact.

You can chant without throwing chairs and insulting people. You can support your favourite candidate without assaulting your neighbour.

And above all, you can attend a rally without stealing someone’s mangoes or setting their roasted maize cart on fire. Political expression is a right.

So is safety. So is doing business without fear of being trampled, tear-gassed, or looted because someone didn’t like the way you looked at their flag.

Let us mature a bit this time. Let us prove we can be passionate without being violent. Let us support our candidates without turning our streets into World Wrestling Entertainment rings.

By and large, hawkers and the general umbrella body of petty traders, please reclaim your stalls in designated areas (the real ones, not the imaginary ones on highways). Citizens, reclaim your decency.

Politicians, maybe reclaim some humility while you are at it. We all share these streets. Let us not turn them into battlegrounds.

Clear the chaos now, or we will all be clearing debris later