Business activities continued as usual in Kabarnet town, the headquarters of Baringo County, despite Thursday's nationwide Gen Z demonstrations to commemorate the second anniversary of the June 25, 2024, anti-Finance Bill protests.
Operations in businesses such as hotels and shops ran normally from early morning, as prevailing peace and calm across the town ensured that routine activities were not affected.
Joyce Chepchieng, a Jua Kali business owner, was operating her business as usual when KNA visited her premises on Thursday afternoon.
"Here in Jua Kali Street, business has been going on well. I opened my shop at 8 am, customers have been purchasing, and we have been selling different items since people here are peaceful. There has been no disturbance, and we are not expecting anything unusual to happen," said Chepchieng.
Trading activities at Kabarnet Municipal Market also continued as usual. KNA met Margaret Talam, a fresh vegetable seller, going about her business as normal.
"We thank God that here in Kabarnet, especially at the market, business is going on as usual. I have been selling vegetables since morning, and I have not seen any demonstrations around here," said Talam.
At the Kabarnet Municipal matatu terminus, public service vehicles were operating as usual, although there was a minimal number of passengers compared to a normal working day. Matatus operating on the Kabarnet-Nakuru route had few passengers, as many feared for their safety because of the nationwide Gen Z demonstrations.
By 2 pm, some drivers had not made a single trip, and their vehicles remained parked due to the low number of travellers.
Enock Kiptoo, a driver operating on the Kabarnet-Nakuru route, said he had been at the parking lot for seven hours since morning because there were too few passengers to fill the vehicle's carrying capacity.
Kiptoo said passengers at the terminus feared they might get stranded after reaching Nakuru, which was one of the areas that experienced the protests.
Matatus operating on the Marigat-Kabarnet and Kabarnet-Eldoret routes were also affected by the nationwide Gen Z demonstrations, and some drivers and touts expressed their dissatisfaction after failing to get enough passengers.
"Today I am eating boiled maize for lunch, but usually I eat a heavy meal like ugali and nyama," said one of the affected matatu drivers, Ernest Chebon.
Despite Kabarnet and other towns in Baringo County remaining peaceful, there was a heavy police presence patrolling the streets to ensure there was no disturbance or destruction of personal property.
