Police, Quickmart dismiss claims of bodies hidden after Gen Z protests

The heavy police presence at a Supermarket premises in Nairobi's OTC area, several hours after the Gen Z protests cooled down has raised questions over what the state was concealing.

On Friday, speculation was rife whether the police were concealing more cases of human rights abuses in the Quickmart premises, drawing the attention of civilians, two days after the protests.

The spectre elicited alarming questions about what could be the "hidden' aftermath inside the building.

Reports, which The Saturday Standard could not verify, had emerged that there could be bodies concealed at the Supermarket, with speculations engulfing social media that police officers shot some of the rioters and hid their bodies inside the shop.

Central Sub County Police Commander Stephen Okal said it was inconceivable that dead bodies could be in the building.

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"Contrary to speculations, there are no bodies there. What I know is we've deployed officers to guard the supermarket where some individuals intend to loot," he said.

By the time of going to the press, the place was still cordoned off, with heavy security officers making turns surveying and manning the area. 

Quickmart management dismissed the allegations of reported deaths at its branches in OTC, assuring the public that the community's well-being remains its top priority.

"While we recognize that the recent events have posed a significant challenge for these outlets, we want to emphasize that Quickmart is deeply committed to restoring normalcy as softly as possible. We are actively engaging in all necessary measures to ensure continued service excellence and to support our shoppers and staff during this time," the statement read in part. 

"Quickmart remains dedicated to caring for our community and will continue to keep the public informed as we work towards stability and recovery," it added. 

When The Standard on Saturday visited the shop, a flurry of activities were ongoing as workers scrambled to restore the mess. Staff swept the debris and broken glasses, rearranged shelves and assessed inventory losses. 

"The claims are false," one of the officers told The Saturday Standard, as we were being ushered into the supermarket. 

"Look," one of the managers urged us as he took us around the shelves and merchandise sections. "The speculations are just rumours, 

"The goons were creating fresh tensions to come to find an avenue to loot more items," he said, responding to the tensions witnessed outside the supermarket on Thursday evening. 

He added; "The media and the public were here last evening when the claims emerged. They would have witnessed the bodies being removed if at all they were there."

He said the goons swept the electronic shelves clean- and stole television sets, and music systems among others. 

He said they also went with the CPUs, desktops, pin pads, PDQs and destroyed drawers-suspecting that they were searching for cash.

Overall, as the dust settles and normalcy returns in the city after the Gen Z protests, the ever-busy Nairobi's downtown bears the scars of the Wednesday demonstrations that saw several people killed, scores injured and businesses looted and some burnt. 

Two days later, shattered glasses still littered the streets, teargas and smoke scent was yet to disappear from the air, with the majority of civilians wearing masks to shield them from being choked.

Shopfronts were ransacked, others torched stood wrecked as silent witness to a day of unrest that disrupted the heart of the city. 

Thousands of Kenyans, largely the youth, had taken to the streets to commemorate the June 25, 2024, Gen Z-led demonstrations as they demanded accountability over their fellows killed by the police. 

On Friday, during a spot-check by The Saturday Standard, hundreds of traders were back to the scenes of destruction and mayhem, assessing what used to be a source of their livelihood. 

They navigated not only physical debris left by raging fire and looting by goons but also the emotional weight of huge loss and uncertainty. 

Several business premises were burnt down and others broke into, including Musa House, however, one premise remained conspicuously on the lips of many Quickmart supermarkets, the OTC Branch.  

President William Ruto, accused the opposition of sponsoring the destruction, saying "The wills of justice will find you, and deal with you firmly and decisively within the full letter of the law."

"Kenya is a country governed by the rule of law, and the government will not allow acts of violence and destruction during protests to destroy lives and livelihoods,” he said on Friday, adding that the perpetrators will be identified and prosecuted.