Panic buying hits Kenyans
2008-01-14 12:05
Nairobi - Supermarket carparks were filled to capacity and queues snaked back from cash desks as panic buying gripped inhabitants of the Kenyan capital ahead of three days of planned opposition protests this week.
"I'm going to buy maize flour, sugar, beans, things that can take us for two weeks until we know what is going on," said Grace Otieno, a 45-year-old account, before carrying out her shopping in a supermarket in Westlands shopping centre in central Nairobi.
At the Nakumatt Westgate supermarket, the second biggest store of the country's largest chain, deputy manager David Muturi said that 3 000 customers came in on Saturday, many more than usual.
He said: "There's a lot of panic buying, people are streaming in."
700 people displaced
Opposition leader Raila Odinga, who claimed Mwai Kibaki stole the tightly-contested December 27 presidency from him, had called for nationwide protests on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday after African Union-led talks failed to bring the two rivals to the negotiating table.
The rallies had been banned and many feared battles between protestors and police, after deadly post-election violence killed at least 700 and displaced a quarter of a million.
"On Wednesday, I'll stay at home, I don't know what the police is going to do," said Otieno, in the middle of a sea of trolleys.
The scheduled re-opening of parliament on Tuesday was another expected flashpoint. And schools were due to re-open on Monday.
"I'm worried about sending my daughter to school," said Jany Greenwood, who had lived in Kenya for seven years, as she stocked up.
But she added: "I'm not nervous, life has to go on."
Cosmas Mbugua, a 46-year-old mechanical engineer, said he had withdrawn extra cash and bought supplies of flour, sugar and beans.
'We expect more violence'
He said: "It's very uncertain. Rallies have been planned, parliament will re-open, schools will be open, there might be chaos."
Emos Soul, an accountant for the Red Cross, said he also expected more violence, as he bought powdered milk, dried vegetables, flour and bars of soap.
"We'd rather suffer another week or month than suffer five more years," he added.
The capital's supermarkets had generally been restocked since days of rioting and blocked supply routes emptied their shelves after the December 30 announcement of Kibaki's re-election.
But aisles normally stocked with toiletries, cooking oil, fruit and vegetables remained half-empty.
"On the fruit and vegetables' side, clients are buying more than what is delivered; everything is paralysed where vegetables are being produced" said Muturi, referring to the violence-hit Rift Valley.
At Nakumatt Westgate, piles of mattresses, blankets, sugar and flour packets blocked the entrance - gifts from customers for displaced people.
"It's been tremendous," said Samuel Kirubi, 32, the manager of Uchimi who set up a similar operation. "The kind of response we've got is great."