Last Year, My Shop Was Looted During Protests, This Year, It Stood Untouched as Others Burned. Here’s What I Did Differently

 

I still remember the way my hands trembled as I stood outside my broken shop in Nairobi CBD during last year’s protests.

Windows shattered. Goods gone. My entire life’s savings, swept away in one afternoon of chaos. I had just restocked for the high season. I watched young men carry away bales of merchandise like it was a festival. No police, no protection, just destruction.

I cried. Not just for the money, but for the years of sacrifice. The early mornings. The bank loans. The nights I skipped meals to grow this business.

Everyone told me to move on. That it was just bad luck. That I should open somewhere “safer.” But I couldn’t afford to start from scratch again.

I rebuilt the shop slowly, painfully. But this time, I did something different.

I protected it.

Not with CCTV, not with padlocks or metal grills. Those had already failed me once.

This time, I reached out to Dr. Bokko.

You see, after the looting, I started hearing whispers from fellow traders. About how some shops always survive, even in the worst riots. How fire skips some businesses, how looters walk right past certain stalls. I thought it was coincidence… until I heard it over and over again.  to read more click here