Businesses incur huge losses due to anti-IEBC protests
Nasa supporters clash with Jubilee supporters on Moi Avenue in Nairobi on October 12, 2017. PHOTO | JEFF ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- Businessmen in Nairobi said they do not want the protests to continue as they had lost a lot after shops were broken into and looted and vehicles damaged by stone-throwing protesters.
- On Cardinal Otunga Road, for instance, there are three shops with broken windows.
- Hawkers have been occupying the streets as early as 6 am, taking advantage of a lenient county government that has resorted to dialogue rather than the usual forcible eviction from the CBD.
Businesses in Nairobi had by Thursday lost more than Sh15 million in looted goods during the Opposition’s anti-IEBC protests, records at the Central Police Station show.
National Police Service Spokesman George Kinoti, however, said the figure could be higher given they were still receiving more reports. “A significant number of people have reported to us but we have not made the aggregate from all parts of the country because there are also reports from Migori, Siaya and other counties,’’ he said last evening.
On Thursday, businessmen in Nairobi said they do not want the protests to continue as they had lost a lot after shops were broken into and looted and vehicles damaged by stone-throwing protesters.
They said protests called by the Opposition were hurting businesses.
BROKEN WINDOWS
On Cardinal Otunga Road, for instance, there are three shops with broken windows. The owners said they are afraid the shops will be targeted again should the demonstrations continue.
Businessmen guard their shops along Moi Avenue, Nairobi, as Nasa supporters hold anti-IEBC protests at on October 11, 2017. PHOTO | JEFF | ANGOTE | NATION MEDIA GROUP
But demonstrators are not the only menace city businessmen are grappling with. They also have to deal with the invasion of hawkers in the central business district.
The hawkers have been occupying the streets as early as 6 am, taking advantage of a lenient county government that has resorted to dialogue rather than the usual forcible eviction from the CBD.
This comes at a time when the county government has issued radical measures to deal with hawking.
HAWKERS
In the directive, the hawkers are required to operate only in areas beyond Tom Mboya Street, not hawk their wares in front of shops before 2 pm, refrain from hawking on both sides of the road, and ensure that paths are available for pedestrians.
A walk through the streets yesterday, however, showed the hawkers were yet to adhere to the directive.
