Nairobi demos: Life slows down in the estates as Kenyans mark June 25 anniversary

It’s 3:30pm in Nairobi. An eerie air fills the air in Nairobi’s Eastlands area Nairobi.

There are no Public Service Vehicles (PSV) popularly known as matatus on the roads. The often chaotic roads have been left to a handful personal cars to rule.

It’s hard to catch a bus to the Central Business District (CBD) as most of the vehicles have been parked at various garages, petrol stations and compounds.

In Bee Centre, and sections of Umoja, Jacaranda, Donholmn, Pipeline and Kayole, which have in the past borne the fury of protests, life is moving at a snail-pace.

A number of businesses are half-opened, half-closed, their operators clearly on high alert, just in case.

Otherwise it’s quiet – and people are out – trying to live life even though they are over 10 kilometers away from the CBD, the epicentre of the demonstrations.

June Akinyi who sells groundnuts along Manyanja Road told Wananchi Reporting that business has not been kind today.

“It’s a very tough day for us business operators in the estates, because most people are in their houses following the happenings on TV and on the phones, and others are on the streets,” Akinyi told Wananchi Reporting.

She added that it’s cautiously quiet in the estates, no disruption or destructions, but people are just not moving and interacting freely like they would on a normal day.

“This month alone, businesses have been disrupted more than twice due to demonstrations, which really hurts us,” she said.

John Kariuki, a matatu driver in Kayole, said he had to park the vehicle after being instructed by their Sacco.

“All our vehicles are not operating today because of the situation,” said Kariuki, adding that a number of vehicles were acquired on loan, and that such disruptions hurt the owners, and the staff who daily depend on the job.

Today's demos were meant to mark one year anniversary since Kenyan youth stormed the Kenyan parliament to express their disaffection over the controversial  Finance Bill 2024.

The recent killing of teacher Albert Ojwang while in police custody, and the near-fatal shooting of hawker Boniface Kariuki have only stoked the fire.