How will we rebuild?

Then on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, his livelihood went up in flames.

Some minutes past one o'clock, goons descended on Sunbeam Shopping Complex in Nairobi where he and hundreds of other second-hand clothes sellers earned their living.

The goons tried to forcefully enter the building and when they met resistance, they set it on fire, and with it Kevin's used sportswear and printing business.

“When I received a call, I had already closed down and started trekking up to Wilson Airport because there were no matatus,” he recalls.

Going into self-employment

“I couldn't come back, I couldn't sleep either; I stayed up watching videos of my entire livelihood go up in frames.” says the 36-year-old.

Kevin ventured into self-employment in 2014, selling locally sourced sportswear.

"This business enabled me to pay for my Bachelor’s degree in Information Technology at Zetech University,” he tells the Business Daily.

Two years into the business, he began importing sportswear but stopped in 2022 after tax increases made the cost of importing too expensive.

“Back then, when I would import I would sell 200 pieces and make a profit of nearly Sh20,000, but when importation costs were hiked, the profit would pay off the taxes. So I chose to buy from those who have already imported,” he says.

On Tuesday, all his stock burned down. He estimates his losses at Sh5 million.

“It took years to be here. How will I rebuild?” He asks.

Tony Anditi, another mitumba from the same complex used to sell jackets. He recalls that when the crowd started looting the shops in the adjacent building, he had already closed down his shop.

“Even before I got to City Stadium [a walking distance of about 21 minutes], I was called and informed that the building was breached and property stolen,” he says.

Tony who is in his late 40s, imagined losing Sh1 million stock but choosing his life, did not turn back to try and salvage his goods from the fire and goons.

“I came here around 6:30am hoping that only ground-floor shops were affected, but to my shock, the whole building was on fire,” he says.

Tony, who has been a tenant of the Sunbeam Shopping Complex since it was in Development House, on Moi Avenue, says that for 17 years, he has met all his needs and those of his two employees through the business.

“From when I was a young man, I was in business. I started selling jackets in Ngara, moved to Development House, and then here. I have raised my children from the returns of this business. I have lost everything!"

Twin tragedy

When the BDLife meets Jane Karemera, 34, her eyes are teary. She cannot fathom that she has no livelihood anymore. Jane, who had two shops selling secondhand clothes, recalls that when the looting began, she and her twin sister who is also her business partner, were still in their shop counting their stock.

“They targeted an electronic shop next to us, but when they saw that it had three doors before one could gain entry, they tried our building. When one of us on the ground floor raised the alarm, we locked the entry point, but they used a panga to cut through. They then threw in a mattress and a petrol bomb, then shut the entrance and exit. Some of us pleaded with them to not let us burn alive, but our pleas fell on deaf ears,” she says.

Fighting for life

Jane took the stairs to the third floor of the building and escaped through a window.

Before finding space at the Complex, Jane, a journalism graduate and her twin sister were operating an online store. Business was good.

“I started this business in 2017 after efforts to get a formal job became futile. Initially, we sold these clothes purely online, but as our clientele grew, and enquiries of our pickup points, we opened a physical store,” she says.

Now, the twins are counting over Sh1.5 million in losses.

The situation is no different for Geoffrey Mwangi, who used to sell men's wear. His total stock was valued at over Sh1 million.

“Yesterday(Wednesday), when I came here, I did not expect to be counting losses,” says the 45-year-old who considers himself lucky to be alive, noting that when the goons armed with pangas gained entry escape was difficult owing to the narrow corridors.

“We started escaping through the washrooms on the third floor, but some of our fellow business owners did not manage. Others are nursing injuries in different hospitals,” he says.

Geoffrey ventured into business as soon as he cleared his secondary school education since his parents could not afford to enrol him in a tertiary institute.

He says, "A friend of mine advised I come to Nairobi and help his brother, who had a business shop at Sunbeam, instead of idling in the village. Back then, I was being paid Sh100 a day. I worked for two years, and by the third year, I had opened my own shop."

The business started growing, Geoffrey says, and he chose not to further his schooling. Until Tuesday, the business was his sole source of revenue.

“I have educated some of my children up to university from the returns of this business,” he says.

Irene Waithera is still in disbelief after her new shop which started operating two days ago was not only looted but burnt down. She had two shops along Mfangano Street and was still in the process of securing insurance coverage. She says her life has been left in jeopardy since she took loans to start the businesses.

“I have lost business worth millions and I have school fees to pay, and loans that I’m paying back,” Ms Waithera said with tears flowing.

She had employed six people who have now been left jobless.

Benson Kiarie is also counting losses after his retail shop was looted.

Mr Kiarie says that the attempt to beg protesters to spare their shops did not bear fruit as some threatened them with knives.

“I don’t know where to start from right now. I think the government should do something,” Mr Kiarie said.

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Additional reporting by Kevin Cheruiyot