Chaos, Looting, and Grief: Traders Count Losses as Gen Z Protests Turn Bloody in Nairobi
Date: June 28, 2025
By: BS Media KE News Desk
Tags: #KenyaProtests #GenZRevolution #NairobiLooting #HumanRightsKenya #PoliceBrutalityKE
A Dark Day for Small Businesses: Tears in the CBD
Nairobi’s central business district (CBD) awoke to the bitter aftermath of devastation on Wednesday, June 26, 2025, as broken glass, ransacked stores, and sobbing business owners painted a grim picture of what was meant to be a peaceful memorial protest by Gen Z. The youth-led demonstration, initially organized to honor lives lost in the 2024 anti-finance bill protests, quickly descended into chaos after unidentified goons infiltrated the crowd and began a wave of destruction and looting.
By dawn, several shopkeepers across Nairobi, Kisumu, Nakuru, and Mombasa were counting unbearable losses. From phone accessories, boutiques, cosmetics shops, to small grocery stalls—nothing was spared. Broken shutters and empty shelves became the symbol of a people betrayed—not just by the criminals who robbed them, but by a system that looked the other way.
Organized Chaos? Allegations of State-Backed Thuggery
Eyewitnesses, video footage, and social media posts have begun to point toward a disturbing trend: the looters appeared organized, coordinated, and in some cases, protected. Multiple videos showed well-built men in plainclothes being dropped off from unmarked vans and walking confidently into shops as demonstrators stood helplessly nearby.
“The looters weren’t with us,” said 24-year-old protester Anita Wambui, who had come out with a candle to honor her friend who died in last year’s protests. “They came from nowhere, and we even tried to stop them. Police stood back. It’s like they wanted this to happen so they could call us criminals.”
Several opposition leaders and civil rights groups have strongly alleged that the goons were planted and directed by elements within the government to discredit the Gen Z protests. Their theory is simple: create violence, blame the demonstrators, and use it as a pretext to unleash excessive force.
These suspicions gained weight when Nairobi Senator Edwin Mwalimu accused the Ministry of Interior of deploying state-backed saboteurs. “This regime is not protecting the Constitution—it’s protecting power,” he said in a press briefing on Thursday. “They let looters infiltrate peaceful protests just to make the youth look like anarchists.”
Murkomen’s Controversial Threat: “Shoot If They Come”
The tension reached a boiling point when Cabinet Secretary for Roads and former lawyer, Kipchumba Murkomen, made a chilling statement that shocked both citizens and the police establishment. Speaking in Eldoret at a regional leaders’ gathering, Murkomen stated:
“If any of those protesters try to access a police station, the police should shoot them. We can’t allow our security bases to be attacked by emotional mobs.”
His comments sparked an immediate backlash. Human rights organizations termed the statement as incitement to extrajudicial killings. Even members within the National Police Service distanced themselves from Murkomen’s remarks, emphasizing that the duty of the police is to protect all citizens, not act as executioners.
The Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) condemned the utterance as “reckless and unconstitutional,” warning that any police officer who acts on such directives would be held personally accountable for violating the rule of law.
Police Officers Speak Out: “We’re Not Killers”
In a rare show of internal dissent, a section of police officers—speaking anonymously through the Kenya Police Union—voiced their frustration at being used as political pawns.
“We did not sign up to shoot innocent Kenyans,” one officer said. “It’s one thing to respond to threats, but quite another to be told to fire at unarmed civilians. That’s not policing, that’s tyranny.”
Another senior officer added, “Murkomen’s statement could jeopardize our relationship with the public even further. We’re already struggling with trust.”
This rare pushback signals a deeper fracture within the state machinery, as the rank-and-file of the police force wrestle with their conscience and the politicization of law enforcement.
A Cry for Justice: The Voices of Traders
At Kamukunji Market, 58-year-old Miriam Atieno stood motionless next to her vandalized kiosk, her hands trembling. “This was all I had. I’ve worked here for 26 years,” she whispered. “I came here after the protest to clean, but there’s nothing left. They took even my weighing scale.”
Like Miriam, hundreds of traders in Nairobi’s CBD and Gikomba reported losses running into millions of shillings. Many did not have insurance and have no alternative means of recovery.
The Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KNCCI) has called for an immediate government compensation fund for affected traders and an independent investigation into the looting incidents.
“Criminals don’t walk around with placards. These were not protestors,” said KNCCI Chairperson James Mwangi. “We want answers and accountability.”
Mounting Pressure: Where is President Ruto?
As the nation reels from a week of mourning, rage, and destruction, President William Ruto has remained largely silent, save for a brief statement condemning “lawlessness on all sides.” Critics argue that the President’s hands-off response in such a volatile moment reflects either indifference or strategy.
A coalition of civil society organizations is now demanding a parliamentary inquiry into the events of June 26th. Meanwhile, Gen Z organizers have vowed to continue peaceful protests, refusing to let their cause be hijacked or silenced.
“We are not looters. We are a generation demanding accountability. And we won’t stop,” said youth activist Ivy Ndirangu in a viral speech on TikTok.
Conclusion: The Battle for Kenya’s Soul Continues
What unfolded in Nairobi and other towns this week is not just about looting, nor is it merely about protests. It is a battle for the country’s moral compass—between state authority and civil liberties, between truth and propaganda, and between a generation rising and a regime resisting.
Traders are left broken. Protesters are being vilified. And yet, amid the tears, a movement continues to grow—one that Kenya’s leadership can no longer afford to ignore.
📌 If you or someone you know was affected by the recent looting in Nairobi, share your story with us at info@bsmediake.co.ke
📢 Related Stories:
- Why Kenya’s Youth Are Back on the Streets: Inside the Gen Z Movement
- Police Reforms in Kenya: Myth or Reality?
- Ruto’s Silence and the Crisis of Leadership
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