Saba Saba protests: Business owners resort to hiring guards
By Faith Macharia, July 8, 2025Members of Nairobi’s business community resorted to hiring armed men to guard their premises and deter looters during the July 7, 2025, Saba Saba protests, claiming that police have failed to protect them.
The self-defence moves were largely visible around many business buildings in the downtown area and several high-risk neighbourhoods.
According to several business owners, this significantly reduced incidents of looting that have plagued the city during recent protests. Business owners on River Road, Tom Mboya Street, Luthuli Avenue, and parts of the Eastleigh district were seen reinforcing their burglar-proof doors and installing makeshift metal barricades outside their shops.
“Today we have entered the city to protect our properties from those youths who were sent to destroy people’s businesses,” one businessman told a TV station.
In some areas, security personnel were seen carrying crude weapons, with some reportedly hired from private vigilante groups to patrol the streets at night and stand guard.
“We are armed with these rungus to protect ourselves. When a goon attacks you with stones, you cannot retaliate with a pair of sandals. You have to be armed in order to protect your property,” one man said.
Another said: “We are tired of losing our investments. No one is coming to protect us, so we are doing it ourselves. This weekend, we sealed our doors with steel sheets and hired watchmen to keep watch. We slept here at night guarding and we will continue.”
Heightened vigilance
The heightened vigilance came in response to fears stemming from what happened during the June 25, 2025, anti-government protests and the economic losses caused by opportunistic looting sprees and burned properties that left many businesses with millions in losses.
Police were seen yesterday on some streets helping the hired guards to protect businesses that were heavily looted and damaged during the June 25 demonstrations.
Yesterday, goons who wanted to enter and loot Quickmart Supermarket on Thika Road hurled stones at the building. It was unclear whether any workers in the premises were injured.