Steel door and grille fabricators have reported a boom in orders as business owners in the Nairobi central business district (CBD) secure their premises for fear of breach by looters who might take advantage of demonstrations called by Kenyan youth pushing for governance reforms.
A spot check within the Nairobi CBD revealed that most business premises, including supermarkets, banks, and phone shops, have now been fitted with heavy steel doors or grills to curb break-ins.
“The looting that happened in previous rounds of protests was a major wake-up [call] to many businesses. Most business owners are now securing their premises with steel doors and grilles” said Peter Njoroge, a trader in downtown Nairobi.
Yesterday, activity was shut down within the CBD as police battled pockets of protesters who attempted to march on some key city streets by mid-morning. Entry into Nairobi downtown was restricted as police officers mounted roadblocks on all major roads.
Public service vehicles and traders who had earlier made their way into the Nairobi CBD were ejected by police officers, leaving the streets eerie as businesses remained shut. “It is a huge drag on the entire economy, and the manufacturing sector has a lot of impact on other sectors.
“So anybody who deals with taking goods from the port to the factory or the market has not managed to continue their operations,” said Kenya Association of Manufacturers chief executive Anthony Mwangi.
“Businesses have shut down. Every day that we don’t have production going on, we do not have retail going on, which is a serious loss to businesses.”
Traders counted losses due to shut businesses while the Nairobi County government did not collect parking fees, which translates to millions of shillings a day.
Gen-Zs are currently at the forefront of the protests that have rocked the country since June 18, driven by the punitive Finance Bill 2024, which has since been withdrawn.
The youth have decried bad governance in the country—a claim that prompted President William Ruto to fire his entire Cabinet and form a new one that was sworn in on Thursday during an event at State House, Nairobi.
President Ruto has incorporated several members of the Raila Odinga–led Orange Democratic Party (ODM), hoping to end the demonstrations that have rocked several major towns for two months now.
ODM members incorporated into Dr Ruto’s new Cabinet include John Mbadi (National Treasury), Opiyo Wandayi (Energy), Hassan Ali Joho (Mining and Blue Economy), and Wycliffe Oparanya (Co-operatives).
Other towns such as Nakuru, Mombasa, Homa Bay, Migori, Eldoret and Kisumu that previously witnessed protests were on Thursday with no activity.
More than 50 youths have so far been killed and hundreds injured in the protests, according to official figures by the Kenya Human Rights Commission.
