This archive report was first published on 8 May 2020.
On May 7, 2020, the streets of Eastleigh, a major economic hub in Nairobi, were a hive of activity. However, the following day, the area was transformed into a ghost town as the government implemented a lockdown to combat the spread of the coronavirus.
The lockdown, which was part of the government's efforts to contain the virus, brought all forms of trade and movement to a standstill. The area, which is at the heart of a complex network of trade connecting Asia, the Arabian Peninsula, Somalia, and East Africa, turns over Sh10 billion a month.
According to the Eastleigh Business District Association, a good chunk of the rice, electronics, cooking oil, bar soap, sugar, textiles, and spaghetti consumed in Kenya and beyond passes through Eastleigh. The area is also a major hub for the trade of miraa, which is consumed in Nairobi or exported to other countries.
However, all that came to a screeching halt on Wednesday night when the government stopped all forms of trade and movement in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. By Thursday morning, the bustling neighbourhood looked like a ghost town.
Helpless residents, who had not managed to relocate, watched as police took over their neighbourhood. The streets remained largely empty as the General Service Unit was deployed for the first time to deal with the coronavirus situation.
Security sources told the Nation that over 200 people had been identified and rounded up by last evening. They will be tested next week after completing a week in quarantine. There are indications that this number could rise to more than 1,000 by the end of the weekend.
The government expressed concern over a large number of residents who escaped on Wednesday night to their relatives in South B and South C estates. Health Cabinet Administrative Secretary Rashid Aman warned, 'For those welcoming those (family) members, you are placing yourself in danger. Those within these areas, please remain in there.'
He also quoted the Koran, saying, 'Prophet Muhammad said that if you hear there is a plague in a land do not enter it and if you are in a land and it is visited by a plague do not leave it.'
