Meet the 'Inspector Mama Mboga' of Chogoria

There's a new sheriff in town in Chogoria, Tharaka Nithi, but she's not wearing a badge, uniform, or a suit. Instead, picture women in aprons, gumboots, and walking shoes, affectionately known as the “Inspector Mama Mboga” of Chogoria.

This is not your typical law enforcement; it is a group of determined traders that have taken on the personal responsibility of ensuring a long-overdue, government-funded market project stays firmly on track. Armed with nothing but determination and a deep sense of ownership, they say it is a grassroots revolution taking shape, born from the roadside open-air market  of Chogoria, where they have braved harsh weather for decades.

As Chairperson of the Chogoria Market Committee, Lydia Mukami has emerged as the “Chief Inspector Mama Mboga.” She has mobilised 14 fellow traders into a fearless team of watchdogs, determined to ensure the long-promised modern market becomes a reality.

“We have a women’s group,” said Lydia Mukami, Chairlady of the Chogoria Market Traders Association. “When we see that the work is not going well, we ask, What is not happening? We tell them the President said things should move fast.”

When President William Ruto and Deputy President Kithure Kindiki visited to inspect the Chogoria Economic Stimulus Programme (ESP), they may not have realised they had inspired a group of real accountability inspectors.

“It is no longer their project, it is ours,” added Mukami, with the authority of someone who knows she is  changing history.

Every week, a battalion of 15 women, tired of selling in the rain, mud, and blistering sun, go to the construction site. They question the clerk of works, grill the contractor, and keep a keen eye to ensure no corners are cut.

“I strategically do not use the old path anymore,” Mukami added. “We walk through here daily, checking how things are going. The progress is good. Even some of our children have secured jobs on this site.”

“Every day we wake up asking why the workers have not come,” Karii said. “We wonder, have they gone on strike? Have they not been paid? But then we see them return from lunch and continue working, we know something is happening, and they had just taken a break.”

Mukami says the women are pleased with the progress so far and are counting down the days to the market’s official opening.

“We are tired of selling by the roadside. This market is our future, our dignity, and we are not leaving anything to chance,” she said firmly.

“That was the turning point,” she recalls, a smile breaking through. “We have suffered under the sun and rain, and for mothers like me, it has been particularly tough.”

She recalls how women with infants were often forced to take unpaid leave, and worse still, some lost their market spaces altogether when county officials reallocated them. For her, the time spent on accountability inspections is a small sacrifice compared to the daily struggles of operating in an open-air market without basic amenities.

The nearly completed market promises to change that. It will include a daycare centre, offering mothers peace of mind and the freedom to work while their children are safely cared for.

At 69 years old, Veterina Bundi has spent her youth at Chogoria’s open-air market. She has raised her children, and now grandchildren on the proceeds of her stall.

“As a resident of Chogoria, I am overjoyed,” she says. “It feels like when a woman finally conceives after a long struggle, it is a dream come true.”

Maara Sub-County Assistant County Commissioner Joseph Karato supports the women’s efforts, noting, “ It is their civic duty. They know where the shoe pinches. It is their right to demand quality.”

According to Karato, the Ksh112 million Chogoria Modern Market, now 60% complete, will accommodate 400 traders and include cold rooms, ICT hubs, dry stores, vendor stalls, mother-and-child rooms, and ample parking, mirroring the standard features of similar markets being constructed across the country.

“It will serve a wide range of traders, from general goods and fresh produce. ” he notes.