Kisumu residents kept away from streets over anxiety from delayed presidential election result

A deserted street in Kisumu city. Photo: Philip Orwa, Standard

Before the announcement of the presidential results Friday, Kisumu City remained a ghost town as anxiety continued.

Most streets and major roads around the city remained empty with shops closed. Extra measures were taken with police officers who were deployed operating both on air and on the ground as the stalemate over the presidential results persisted.

All major highways connecting Kisumu to neighbouring towns were empty because there was no public transport.

Even the common mode of transport, tuktuks, were out of roads. The ones in the town hiked fares due to the high demand.

In Kondele, the entry point from Kakamega, police kept vigil, and repulsed youths who had blocked the roads using stones and empty fuel tanks.

The police formed a cordon around the small, but busy townships, to block the youths from accessing the Central Business District.

County Commissioner, Maalim Mohammed, said the city was secure and safe. He urged employees and business people to return to work, saying their continued absence will hurt economic growth of the lakeside town.

A few banks which had opened in the morning were quickly shut by noon after information went round that the electoral commission Chairman Wafula Chebukati was to deliver the presidential announcement.

Residents, mostly in the slum areas had already expressed concerns that the delayed announcement had taken a toll on their lives.

Michael Ouma, a resident of Nyalenda says he is a casual labourer who earns a living from working in construction sites. He is worried that for the last five days he has been idling as everything is at stand still. "How do we get our children food under this situation," he paused

The Chamber of Commerce industry spokesperson Chairman Israel Angina said most traders had indicated that they have run out of stock for most of the basic gods, and had no ability to restock due to lack of transport. Consequently, cost of basic commodities shot up.