Kieni MP trapped inside supermarket as protesters clash with police

For over an hour, police in Nyeri Town were engaged in running battles with protesters who attempted to storm Chieni Supermarket.

The supermarket’s owner, Kieni MP Njoroge Wainaina, was trapped inside the building and locked himself in one of the rooms.

A supermarket staff member who requested anonymity confirmed that the MP was still inside at 3 pm.

The MP had arrived at the supermarket at around midday, shortly after police officers stationed at the building were overwhelmed and chased away by protesters.

The officers returned nearly two hours later after a swelling crowd marching through the town had redirected its focus towards the supermarket.

In a defiant show of might, the MP barricaded himself inside and dared the looters to come for him first.

“I can't just sit at home and watch my business become endangered again. I have to do something,” he told a group of locals acting as marshals during the protests.

Police officers stationed in various locations were also chased away by protestors during the demonstrations held in the town.

Last year, three supermarkets in Nyeri and Nanyuki towns associated with Mr Wainaina were looted by protestors. The MP said he suffered losses of Sh567 million.

One of the supermarkets in Nanyuki was looted and then set on fire.
Three youths arrested over the looting were released by a Nanyuki Court.

One of the protestors, Mr Ian Mbugua, said that the visible police presence had worsened the tension.

“One of the main reasons we are picketing today is because of police brutality. Seeing their vehicles parked across town feels like gaslighting,” he said.

By mid-afternoon, however, Mbugua noted that the protests had been infiltrated by goons, shifting the tone of the demonstrations.

[email protected]