Demos are costly as merchants grapple with lost sales and looting

At the Rubis petrol station in Kitengela, a young man threw a 13kg LPG cylinder from the ground onto his left shoulder in a split second before running away and blending into the crowd.

Another is trying to accomplish an impossible task: stuff two two-liter soda bottles into her jacket pocket. A woman in a white top, with her jacket pulled tightly around her waist, seems to be wandering aimlessly, lost in two liters of orange juice.

Chaotic scenes broke out in Kitengela, Kajiado County, on Tuesday as young people once again expressed their President William Ruto’s Government.

Such protests often result in business losses. The Rubis gas station in Kitengela and nearby businesses were looted, including the Chicken Inn, where protesters took food and drinks.

Sadam Hassan, the manager of Rubis, said protesters threw rocks at them, forcing them to run for their lives. Although some good Samaritans eventually intervened, the damage was done.

“They forced their way into the office and destroyed everything,” Mr Hassan said.

Thugs have reportedly infiltrated the initially peaceful protests that began on June 18. The protests initially called for the rejection of the controversial Finance Bill 2024the bill was withdrawn the same week. Last week, President Ruto went a step further and dissolved the Cabinet.

However, the leaderless Generation Z movement remains unsatisfied, and one of their demands is for the president to resign.

As protests continue every Tuesday and Thursday, business owners face losses, either from lost sales or damage to their shops and merchandise.

“We have lost Sh3 million since the protests started,” said Hassan.

A few weeks ago, at the height of the protests, Cleanshelf Supermarket in Ongatarongai, Kajiado County was one of the stores stormed by police as they were trying to disperse protesters heading towards Navas Supermarket. During this clash, a 12-year-old boy was shot and killed by police.

“These thugs took advantage of the demonstration. They broke in and looted goods. Fortunately, our police arrested 56 of them,” said Hussein Abduba, the Kajiado North sub-county police chief.

Government spokesman Isaac Mwaura said yesterday: Kenya Revenue Authority It indicated that the economy lost Sh6 billion due to business disruption caused by the demonstrations.

He said the government regretted “occasional demonstrations that are detrimental to business activities.”

“We cannot forget the businessmen who have suffered huge losses due to the protests, whose businesses have been shut down and who have lost billions of shillings. We want to sympathize with them as they are trying to recoup their lost revenue,” he said.

He added: “If the protests continue, the economy will be negatively impacted this fiscal year. This year, we are facing a huge deficit because the finance bill was rejected, which would have raised Sh346 billion, and there are pending bills worth Sh220 billion.”

Unlike other protests that took place mainly in Nairobi after the August 2017 elections and after President Ruto took office in September 2022, the latest round of demonstrations was decentralized. Even small businesses are affected and merchants in the county.

A day before Tuesday’s protest, business owners in Kabarnet, Baringo County, met to discuss how to protect their livelihoods from possible destruction by protesters.

They pleaded with the youths not to damage property and urged them to lodge complaints with the relevant authorities.

“The youths are free to protest but we want it to be peaceful. They can go to the governor’s office to voice their grievances. We don’t want to see demonstrations like those in Nairobi where thugs sneak into the demonstrations and damage property,” said Brigid Kelunya, chairperson of Kabarnet Market.

Protests have broken out after almost every election in recent years, disrupting business in the country, leaving businesses with little respite.

At the height of protests against the IEBC after the first round of the 2017 elections, business came to a standstill as opposition leader Raila Odinga called for the reconstitution of the Independent Electoral and Boundaries Commission ahead of a presidential rerun in October.