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The city was ghostly around 10:00 am on Thursday last week, when I decided to do a rain check. From a location on Thika Road which I will not disclose for security reasons, I drove to town.
Checking online, the trip took 25 minutes. It takes longer on other days. It was a sign traffic was light.
Near Safari Park Hotel, I found a roadblock and another at Ngara. The usual snarl up at Pangani was not there. I got into an empty globe roundabout, then Old Nation roundabout into River Road.
The street was active with some shops closed and some carts on the road. Why have motorbikes not “killed” the carts? Onto Ronald Ngala, I got into Racecourse Road. All along, I found policemen dressed like astronauts stationed on alleys.
Across the river, I turned around till St Peter Claver‘s Catholic Church into Uyoma Street, back to Ronald Ngala, Moi Avenue, University Way, Uhuru Highway, Harambee Avenue, and Parliament Road where I found two armoured personnel carriers and water canons inside Comesa grounds.
Then City Hall Way, Wabera Street, Kenyatta Avenue, Muindi Mbingu Street, into University Way and back to Thika Road. I had a feeling there would be no chaos. The city was under a tight grip. Police could stop cars and matatus anywhere in the city. My Vitz was no threat to anyone.
While there were no riots, the economy felt it. Many Kenyans stayed at home. Empty roads and closed shops mean lost sales and an economic slowdown. The economy is about people. One M-Pesa agent told me how transactions go down any day there are protests.
It was ingenious to arrange swearing in of ministers on nane nane; that took away some attention from protests. Despite some drama, the protests are ending with a whimper to quote poet TS Eliot.
Who was the winner?
The government and politicians could claim victory for stopping the protests; we can debate how.
The protestors can claim victory for being listened to, or better being noticed. A good thesis “Slow puncturing protests in Kenya: a case study” should be cooking. The political part of the protests was easier to handle, with realignments that left us scratching our heads. The economic part is a work in progress, the harder part.
Will the political settlement lead to economic growth espoused by jobs, more hopeful citizens and national pride? Time will tell.
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