Kenya's 'mama Mboga' Pinning Their Hopes On The Future President

Eldoret, Kenya, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 13th Aug, 2022 ) :Behind her makeshift stall in the Kenyan town of Eldoret, just a blue plastic sheet on the ground strewn with bunches of spinach and kale leaves, Agneta Muhonja Ambane's face is etched with fatigue.

The 68-year-old grandmother did not go home last night, fearing she would run into her landlord demanding rent that she can no longer afford to pay.

She says she preferred to spend the night out in the cold in a corner of the market in the Rift Valley town.

Ambane is a "mama mboga" ("mama vegetable" in Swahili), a term used for the women vendors found everywhere in markets or on roadsides across Kenya.

They sell small quantities of fruit, vegetables, beans or fried fish to eke out a living for their families.

Ambane has been selling vegetables since she was just eight years old.

"Now, life is hard, the cost of living is too high," she sighs.

Its economy already hammered by the Covid pandemic, Kenya now is suffering from skyrocketing prices for essential goods caused by the fallout from war in Ukraine.

Inflation hit 8.3 percent in July, the highest in five years, and the struggle of ordinary Kenyans to make ends meet was a hot-button issue in Tuesday's election.