Uneasy calm in Nairobi CBD, other parts of the country as police keep watch
By STEVE OTIENO AND HILARY KIMUYUThe wave of protests as witnessed in the past few weeks in the country has calmed down with Nairobi, the country’s capital witnessing normalcy across several streets.
Businesses, previously closed every Tuesday and Thursday for the past three weeks were today up and running, with public vehicles operating their usual routes with the nonchalance seen in peaceful days.
Still, a few police officers have been deployed to strategic points across the city centre in anticipation of any happenings in the city.
This change in the modus operandi by the Gen Zs, the initiators of the nationwide demonstrations against the controversial Finance Bill 2024, which has since been dropped, appears to have been caused by several factors.
The youth, through their social media platforms, particularly X (formerly Twitter) and TikTok have urged their followers not to go to the streets following a wave of lootings and cases of thefts that disrupted their otherwise peaceful protests.
Intelligence and security agencies around the country believe that the orchestrators of the chaotic scenes witnessed across the country is being fuelled by hired goons and have already launched a search for suspects who infiltrated the protests.
Boniface Mwangi, one of the most vocal activists who played a key role in mobilising the push against the Finance Bill 2024, cautioned the Gen Zs last Tuesday against participating in the protests and even asked them to go back home saying thugs were now wreaking havoc in the name of protests.
Currently, there is a sort of truce amongst the youth who agree that their intended goal, which was to have the Finance Bill dropped, has been achieved, a factor that blunted their sharp claws against the government.
Also, with their theme being “we are peaceful” during the protests, the witnessed damage of properties and loss of life, is not exactly how they planned things to go and for that reason, have decided to go back to the drawing board “to plan how we will push our reform agenda”, one Gen Z posted on his X timeline.
As at 11am, all previously occupied streets and roads by protestors including Kenyatta Avenue, Moi Avenue, Tom Mboya Street as well as Khoja bus stop, Thika Expressway and Mombasa road were peaceful with traders carrying out their transactions as usual.
Instead of going to the streets and risk facing off with the armed goons, the Gen Zs have opted for another means of expressing their displeasure with how things are being run by the State as well as mourn their departed colleagues who died during the protests.
The main idea being fronted is the holding of a concert at Uhuru Park on Sunday (July 7), a date commonly known as Saba Saba (seven seven) in Kenya. It is a date remembered for the push by the second liberation movement in the 1990s that sought to end the excesses of the government and demanded for democracy. In the end, the movement attained the repealing of Section 2A of the constitution that barred other political parties from being registered in the country. This saw Kenya become a multi-party state.
A spot check by Nation. Africa revealed that there was very little police presence in some areas of the CBD.
A police truck with anti-riot officers was stationed on Kenyatta Avenue and another in the Ngara area.
A few police officers were also stationed at Moi Avenue, Parliament Road, Kenya National Archives and other places in the city.
Unlike the past two weeks, Parliament Road was open to motorists, indicating a near return to normalcy, while for the first time City Hall Road was closed to motorists and pedestrians were thoroughly screened before being allowed access.
Roads leading to State House were also cordoned off for the second week running, with a contingent continuing to block roads leading to State House, forcing motorists to use alternative routes.
The roads affected include Dennis Pritt Road, State House Avenue, Processional Way, Valley Road, Jakaya Kikwete Road and adjoining feeder roads, with police asking anyone wishing to access the roads to identify themselves.
At Imenti House, most shops were open, unlike last Tuesday.
On the third week of anti-government protests, a perceived state of calm surrounded Nakuru City’s Central Business District (CBD) on Thursday morning.
A spot check by Nation. Africa showed that areas in CBD were largely calm as majority of the businesses remained opened.
Major businesses including Naivas and Cleanshelf supermarkets remained open, but under tight police guard.
However, there was heavy presence of security officers, who could be seen patrolling various parts of the city on the better part of Thursday morning.
And as was on Tuesday, dozens of heavily armed security officers were deployed to man critical government installations including State House Nakuru.
Bomet,Molo,Naivasha and Kericho towns also remained calm.
Additional REPORTING BY ERIC MATARA