On Baricho Road Kenyans have literally been dancing on some of the manufacturing plants graves.
The most documented encroachment on the Industrial Area has been from residential houses.
It is barely dusk but the party mood on Baricho Road is already building to an ecstatic level. Baricho Road is one of the streets in Nairobi’s Industrial Area, Kenya’s manufacturing hub which has unfortunately suffered from years of neglect and ineptitude.
The cheerfulness of the colourfully dressed revellers basking in the weekend mood contrasts sharply with the sombre mood of the retiring grease-laden mechanics outside the garages, which overlook a row of glittery nightclubs such as XS Millionaires, The Legend, and Club Asylum.
Hornbill The Flight Club along Northern Airport Road, Nairobi on March 6, 2024.
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
Over the years, the rhythmic purr of the machines from the factories along this thoroughfare has been drowned out by the bombastic blare of Afro Beats, Gengetone and Bongo Flava tunes. The consumers have been taking over as the producers retreat.
There is no better way to sum up the uneventful capitulation of Kenya’s manufacturing sector under the growing weight of the service sector than how the factories in Industrial Area are giving way to pubs and nightclubs.
The Tunnel Club along Mombasa Road, Nairobi on March 6, 2024. PHOTO | WILFRED NYANGARESI | NMG
Photo credit: Wilfred Nyangaresi | Nation Media Group
If, as some people have said, Kenya’s manufacturing sector is a graveyard, on Baricho Road Kenyans have literally been dancing on some of its graves.
