Business owners in Kirinyaga County have issued a 14-day ultimatum to residents who looted properties during the recent Saba Saba protests, demanding that stolen goods be returned or face legal consequences. The directive follows a crisis meeting held on Thursday, July 10, at Wanguru International Stadium, where more than 2,000 traders, led by their chairman Anthony Mucheke, gathered to deliberate on security measures for their businesses.
The protests, which were part of the nationwide Saba Saba demonstrations, turned violent in Kagumo and Kagio towns, leading to the looting of supermarkets and other retail outlets. According to Mucheke, the business community suffered losses estimated at over Ksh.200 million.
“We were caught off guard, but we have now organized ourselves. We discovered that those involved were not genuine protesters, but criminals exploiting the chaos,” he said.
To recover some of the losses, the business owners put up posters across the county warning looters to return stolen goods before the two-week deadline lapses. Remarkably, the public campaign has already begun yielding results. By Thursday evening, several stolen items had been returned—some anonymously dropped near supermarkets, others surrendered at police stations or abandoned along roads.
In one of the most significant cases, businessman Charles Njiru revealed that his supermarket in Kirinyaga town was ransacked, with property worth over Ksh.50 million stolen. Njiru expressed disbelief at the betrayal by some of his former employees, who were seen participating in the looting.
“I couldn’t believe local people, even those who once worked for me, took advantage of the situation. It’s heartbreaking,” he said.
The traders have now vowed to bolster security, including setting up surveillance systems and coordinating closely with law enforcement to prevent future incidents.
This firm stance by the business community reflects growing frustration among Kenyan traders, many of whom continue to suffer from the economic fallout of politically charged protests. It also underscores a call for accountability and a shift from impunity to responsibility in the wake of civil unrest.
