Violent protests broke out across at least 27 counties in Kenya on Wednesday, leading to widespread looting and property destruction, with small and medium businesses reporting huge losses.
In Nairobi, the epicentre of the unrest, traders around Bus Station, Mfangano Street, Khoja, and Moi Avenue bore the brunt of the chaos. Shops were vandalised, boutiques ransacked, and some buildings set ablaze. Wines and spirits stores were emptied, while electronics and fashion outlets were not spared.
Two police water cannons and a Nairobi County fire engine managed to contain a blaze at the junction of Moi Avenue and Khoja, preventing further destruction.
Ms Yvonne Otieno, a fashion entrepreneur, sat silently outside her looted shop in the Bus Station area. “I rushed here, hoping maybe it wasn’t true,” she said, her voice breaking. “But when I got here, it was all gone. Everything. They didn’t leave a single shoe.”
Ms Otieno had taken out a Sh1 million loan in March to restock her growing boutique. She now estimates her losses at over Sh2 million. “I don’t even know where to begin. This business was all I had. It was how I fed my children. How do I start again?” she asked.
Her daughter, Bridgit, stood quietly by her side, visibly shaken as the family’s livelihood lay in ruins.
The violence affected businesses in several other regions. In Nakuru, a Total petrol station on Kenyatta Avenue was looted before police arrived. Along the Nakuru–Eldoret highway, transport was temporarily disrupted.
In Nyeri, looters targeted Chieni Supermarket, owned by Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina. “I cannot stay at home and watch my business be destroyed again. I have to do something,” Mr Wainaina told community marshals. He barricaded himself inside the premises, preventing entry. In June 2024, he reportedly lost goods worth over Sh200 million to similar looting.
When looters failed to break into Chieni, they stormed a nearby Naivas Supermarket, prompting undercover police to intervene. One suspected looter was reportedly shot in the head.
In Meru, Bei Sawa Supermarket was raided, while in Embu, Kenya Revenue Authority offices and a Safaricom shop were looted. In Kisii, police responded to a break-in at Shivling Supermarket.
Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Principal Secretary Susan Mang’eni strongly condemned the destruction. “The destruction of sources of livelihood is akin to depriving a business owner of their life,” she posted on X.
“The MSME sector accommodates most of our workforce in Kenya. Someone today has been rendered jobless. A child tonight will miss their milk. Someone will go to bed with no food… all because of wanton destruction of businesses and property.”
She called on protest organisers to safeguard economic rights: “To those organising protests, it is incumbent on you to respect and observe the rights of small business owners to engage and thrive economically. Economic rights are human rights. Let us not be selective.”
As the smoke clears from the protests, thousands of entrepreneurs are left grappling with the aftermath — many with little hope and no clear path to recovery.
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