Businesses close ahead of Cord rally amid looting fears

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Those affected included public service transport, private schools, open-air markets and retail stalls – the majority of which remained closed in major towns as traders feared to lose their wares to looters.

Most businesses across the country remained closed on Monday following the build-up of tension associated with the planned Saba Saba rally at Uhuru Park in Nairobi.

Those affected included public service transport, private schools, open-air markets and retail stalls – the majority of which remained closed in major towns as traders feared to lose their wares to looters.

The opposition coalition, Cord, seeks to use the rally to push the Jubilee government into agreeing to convene a meeting for dialogue on issues the country seems to be grappling with.

Business representatives from Nairobi, Kisumu and Nakuru expressed fears of loss of billions of shillings by traders should the uncertainty persist.

“The number of public service vehicles on the Kisumu roads today is half the normal and in every 10 business stalls, five of them are closed,” said Tom Ongaya, the secretary-general of Kisumu central business district association.

“A solution needs to be found to avoid further losses,” he added.

In Nairobi, bus fares on several routes dropped on low number of commuters reporting to central business district.

Residents of Kasarani area commuting to the city centre on Monday morning paid Sh50 instead of Sh100 charged on normal days during rush hour while those in Ruaka paid Sh50 instead of Sh70.

Peter Ndoro, the CEO of Kenya private schools association said a number of schools remained closed pending the outcome of the rally.

A group of demonstrators marched through the city centre at 11am temporarily causing a scare among the few traders who had opened their shops.

They later joined another group that had already assembled at Uhuru Park, where Cord leaders Raila Odinga, Kalonzo Musyoka and Moses Wetangula were expected to spearhead the rally.

Security was tight in Nairobi with a heavy presence of police at the rally venue and around the city centre.

The Cord luminaries have faulted the government on the manner in which it has handled national issues citing failures to manage runaway crime and insecurity, rising living costs, impunity, corruption and allegations of ethnic favouritism in government appointments.