Residents of Eastlands and surrounding areas woke up to a city under lockdown on Monday as major roads, including the usually bustling Jogoo Road, were barricaded by heavily armed police ahead of the planned Saba Saba demonstrations.<\/p>\n
From Kangundo Road to Outer Ring Road, Donholm, Jericho, Buru Buru, and Umoja, there was one message from the streets: \u201cNairobi is closed.\u201d<\/p>\n
A spot check by Capital News<\/em> revealed empty bus stops, shuttered shops, and a tense calm hanging over estates where residents had expected to make their way into town for work \u2014 or join commemorations of the historic 1990 protests that gave birth to multiparty democracy.<\/p>\n \u201cI left home at 5:30am, hoping to get a matatu at the Caltex stage in Jericho, but there was nothing. All vehicles were turned back at Jogoo Road bridge,\u201d said Martin Otieno, a cleaner who works in town.<\/p>\n Police set up roadblocks at several entry points into the Central Business District \u2014 including City Stadium, Landhies Road, Bahati Roundabout, and the Kariobangi South junction \u2014 allowing only government vehicles and ambulances to pass.<\/p>\n Most PSVs kept off the roads entirely. Others, especially those operating along Kayole, Umoja, and Pipeline, terminated trips far from their usual destinations, citing police orders and fears of unrest.<\/p>\n The lockdown comes amid rising tension as Kenyans mark Saba Saba Day, the anniversary of a 1990 pro-democracy protest that was violently put down by the Moi regime. This year, however, the mood has been fuelled by a youth-led online uprising demanding accountability from the Kenya Kwanza government.<\/p>\n Over the weekend, activists called for peaceful assemblies at symbolic venues like Kamukunji Grounds \u2014 where ODM leader Raila Odinga confirmed he would lead commemorations \u2014 even as government officials warned that the day would proceed like any other workday.<\/p>\n But on the ground, the situation was far from normal.<\/p>\n Shops along Savannah Road, Outer Ring, and even parts of Eastleigh remained closed. Police in riot gear stood guard behind metal barricades and razor wire was rolled out near sensitive installations and road junctions leading toward the city centre.<\/p>\n In Makadara<\/strong>, a mother of three said she had to turn back home after a hospital appointment was disrupted by a roadblock at Mukuru Junction. \u201cThey told me unless I\u2019m in an ambulance, I can\u2019t pass,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, learners from various city schools remained at home after institutions issued closure notices. The Kenya Railways had on Sunday night cancelled the Mombasa-Nairobi Madaraka Express, sparking backlash and speculation that the move was aimed at frustrating protesters returning from the coast.<\/p>\n The rail service resumed Monday morning, but many passengers said the damage was already done.<\/p>\n Public Service Cabinet Secretary Geoffrey Ruku warned that no civil servant should skip duty, promising surprise spot checks and disciplinary action for those absent. Still, many government offices in Eastlands appeared unmanned Monday morning, with workers either stranded or unwilling to risk the commute.<\/p>\n For residents of Eastlands, Saba Saba Day was less about protest \u2014 and more about navigating a city shut down by fear.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Residents of Eastlands and surrounding areas woke up to a city under lockdown on Monday as major roads, including the usually bustling Jogoo Road, were barricaded by heavily armed police ahead of the planned Saba Saba demonstrations. From Kangundo Road to Outer Ring Road, Donholm, Jericho, Buru Buru, and Umoja, there was one message from […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-117679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=117679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/117679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=117679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=117679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=117679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}