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Resolve crisis to save businesses, Nairobi traders tell Ruto after demos leave huge losses

Business people with shops along Luthuli Avenue in Nairobi are pictured on July 2, 2024 holding the wooden sticks they have been using to ward off looters and vandals during protests against the government of President William Ruto. (Photo: Barack Oduor/EV)

By Barack Oduor | Tuesday, July 2, 2024

They have suffered huge losses following cases of looting and vandalism on Luthuli Avenue, Moi Avenue, and Tom Mboya Street, which have forced them to close their shops.

Traders in Nairobi's downtown area on Tuesday pleaded with President William Ruto to find a solution to the ongoing protests against his administration.

They have suffered huge losses following cases of looting and vandalism on Luthuli Avenue, Moi Avenue, and Tom Mboya Street, which have forced them to close their shops.

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Led by Abdirazak Mohammed, who runs an electronics shop along Luthuli Avenue, the traders said they might be unable to keep their doors open should the demonstrations continue.

"We are finding it difficult because we're making losses yet we have rent and employees to pay," he told The Eastleigh Voice.

Nairobi business owner Abdirazak Mohammed talks to The Eastleigh Voice on July 2, 2024, about losses suffered during protests against the government of President William Ruto. (Photo: Barack Oduor/EV)

The demonstrations began three weeks ago, with the participants, mostly Gen Z, demanding that the president reject the Finance Bill, 2024, in its entirety.

After achieving this goal, the protesters now want Ruto to resign for reasons including massive corruption, lack of basic services, heavy taxation, and excessive borrowing which appears to fund the lavish lifestyles of leaders in his Kenya Kwanza government.

Traders in Nairobi plead with President William Ruto to find a solution to the ongoing #OccupyCBDTuesday protests pic.twitter.com/OYoRqt5UsP
— The Eastleigh Voice (@Eastleighvoice) July 2, 2024

As the mass action entered its third week on Tuesday, the traders took it upon themselves to guard their businesses, armed with wooden sticks that they used to repulse attackers attempting break-ins.

"We have no alternative but to physically guard our businesses because police are there to engage protesters but not to defend our premises," said Abdirazak.

Owners of businesses along Luthuli Avenue in the Nairobi CBD guard their properties during anti-government protests on July 2, 2024. (Photo: Barack Oduor/EV)

The traders placed the approximate loss from attacks on shops on a single street at Sh2 million, adding that some business premises were razed. They regretted that the police were yet to make arrests.

The Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) has been releasing CCTV footage and images of break-ins, warning that the culprits would be identified, arrested, investigated, and punished.

Regarding casualties from the protests - at least 39 deaths, 32 forced disappearances, and hundreds of injuries according to the Kenya National Commission on Human Rights (KNCHR) - and the destruction, the traders appealed to both the public and the state to find a solution to ensure the restoration or order.