Traders and members of the public assess the damage on a burnt building OTC area in Nairobi following violent protests on June 26, 2025.
Shattered glass, charred storefronts and empty shelves across shops, stalls and supermarkets told the story of a city capital in turmoil.
In the aftermath of Wednesday’s protests, traders in the Nairobi Central Business District were on Thursday counting the cost of chaos with millions lost to looting, arson and destruction.
It was a painful Thursday on several streets as hundreds of traders returned to scenes of devastation of what used to be their businesses.
What began as peaceful demonstrations morphed into a wave of mayhem, leaving traders scrambling to assess damage, restore order and revive economic activity even as those affected demanded answers and compensation.
The Gen Z anniversary protests, meant to mark one year of youth-led activism descended into chaos in the afternoon, leaving looted stalls and vandalised shops.
From Imenti House to Mfangano Street, Nyamakima, Temple Road, Salvation Army and OTC, the aftermath told its own storyva trail of destruction marked by shattered windows, strewn packaging, twisted metal and hundreds of affected businesses.
Several roads in the city were also impassable after debris from the looting blocked them.
Witnesses recounted how as anti-riot police and protesters engaged in running battles across the CBD, a coordinated looting spree unfolded in broad daylight.
Data and witness accounts reveal a wave of break-ins particularly in the lower end of the city centre, where dozens of small businesses operate. The break-ins were also selective with the 'goons' targeting some shops while sparing others.
On Temple Road alone, over 10 shops were reportedly raided. Similar scenes unfolded on Salvation Army Street, OTC and Nyamakima.
Electronics stores, phone shops, M-Pesa outlets, eateries and clothing stalls were among those targeted. Among the hardest hit were Anne Wanjiku and her business partner Joyce Mumbua.
Ms Wanjiku, 38, runs an electronics shop at Salvation Army stalls. She last saw her store intact on Tuesday evening. When she returned on Thursday morning, the door was open and the glass displays shattered and not a single item remained.
"Everything is gone. Mobile phones, TVs, woofers, solar panels, batteries, accessories even the glass stands were broken. We’ve been taken back to square one,” she said in disbelief, wiping away tears.
Traumatised traders
A mother of six, three of whom are in secondary school, Ms Wanjiku said the timing couldn’t be worse.
“Schools reopen on Monday. We do not know how to move on from here,” she said.
She added that traders had refrained from guarding their shops as they usually do after warnings from government officials.
“Normally, we hire youths to stand watch but this time we were told by the government, through CS Kipchumba Murkomen that we would be protected and warned not to loiter near our shops with weapons or risk arrest,” she said.
Holding two dusty ledger books, the only remnants of their operation, her business partner Mumbua she estimated their losses at Sh1.2 million.
Traders count their losses at OTC area in Nairobi on June 26, 2025, after their shops were looted and burnt down during violent protests on June 25, 2025.
“Even the CCTV cameras, bulbs and extension wires were stolen,” Ms Mumbua said, pointing to the exposed ceiling.
“We elected this government to safeguard our interests, but now we feel helpless. Can the President come to our rescue?”
Both women rely solely on their business income to support their families. Joyce, a mother of three who lives in Juja said small traders deserve the same security protections as state institutions.
“We see how State House is guarded. Why not protect ordinary mwananchi too? Business is our only livelihood. When that is taken, we are left with nothing,” she said.
Chairperson of the Temple Road Business Community Laban Kariuki Mwangi said the area has over 1,000 members—most of them young entrepreneurs.
“We have lost stock worth millions. We are trying to see how the government can step in and help,” Mr Mwangi said.
He noted that the majority of the affected traders are youth the same demographic at the heart of the Gen Z movement.
Traders say they had taken the government at its word when it promised to secure the city centre during the protests.
Scattered items pictured Quickmart Supermarket at OTC area in Nairobi on June 26, 2025 after the outlet was looted during violent protests on June 25, 2025.
Jacob Ngotho Kivuva, a 30-year-old clothes dealer was among the few who tried to guard their businesses.
“I stood outside my closed shop, but armed goons showed up—some with clubs, others with metal bars and stones. Then came the teargas and rubber bullets. I had to run,” he said
He returned on Thursday afternoon to find his stall emptied.
“I have lost stock worth over Sh300,000,” Mr Kivuva said, his eyes narrowed in disbelief.
“This was my only source of income. I lost my job earlier this year and started this business six months ago. Now it’s all gone,” he said.
Well-organised thugs
Mr Mwangi said the experience has left many traders traumatised and uncertain about the future.
Along Bus Station, Beatrice Wanjiku said the looting had taken her back to square one. She has lost goods worth Sh1.5 million and her livelihood.
The electronic appliances, including phones and televisions were all stolen and her shop vandalised.
“I cannot comprehend the kind of losses we have suffered as business people here. The shops are completely empty. We have been cleared out. Everything we stocked has been taken,” Ms Wanjiku said.
She added that those who looted their shops were not protesters but well-organised thugs who knew which shops to attack.
DCI detectives engaged traders at OTC area in Nairobi after shops and stalls were looted and burnt down during violent protests on June 25, 2025.
“They had marked pick-up zones and this government has totally abandoned the vendors. We expected protection,” she said.
Ms Wanjiku had grown from a street hawker to a shop owner selling electronics only for it all to be wiped out in a day.
A few metres away, Ms Yvonne Atieno sat on a stool outside her looted designer shoe shop. She had taken a Sh1 million loan to import designer shoes and lost stock worth Sh2 million.
Meanwhile, in Nairobi’s Embakasi East smoke was still billowing Thursday morning from the ruins of what was once a thriving Bata shoe store. The shop, reduced to rubble, was among the many businesses looted and torched during the protests.
“We thought the protests would remain in the Central Business District. We closed the shop early because tension was rising. That evening, we got word that looters had broken in. They took everything—then set the place on fire,” said Cecelia Wanjiku ,Bata’s district sales manager for Nairobi
The Embakasi branch had over 18,000 pairs of shoes valued at Sh30 million. Only a handful were salvaged the next morning. According to Ms Wanjiku, the branch was one of their highest-performing outlets in back-to-school sales.
“We are devastated. We talk about unemployment in this country, but we’re also destroying businesses that provide jobs,” she said.
The Kenya Association of Manufacturers CEO Tobias Alando said the vandalism and looting led to considerable financial losses to business.
“We call upon the government to investigate all reported incidents of violence and ensure that perpetrators are held accountable,” Mr Alando said.
The Retail Trade Association of Kenya called for the arrest and prosecution of those behind looting.
Reporting by Kevin Cheruiyot, Ndubi Moturi, Millicent Mwololo, Sylvania Ambani.
