By Juma Magino
BUSIA
Traders in Busia Border town on the Uganda side have registered low turn up of customers due to the ongoing protests in Neighbouring Kenya.
On a normal day, Busia town is always flooded with people who come from different walks of life to visit the weekly “Posta market” on the Kenyan side making the entry point at the border so busy with businessmen and women crossing between the two countries.
According to one Kenneth Lumala, a trader who operates his business along the busy Customs road in Busia municipality, the situation was the opposite on Monday, 20th March, 2023. He says many of the traders were left stranded with their goods due to the absence of customers.
He also disclosed to our reporter that every Monday, traders make huge profits from Kenyan nationals who also preferably cross to Uganda to purchase goods, but the current situation left them stranded with their stock in shops.
Dickson Waziba, another trader who deals in Produce business and at times operates as a money changer in the border town said that the nature of his business mostly attracts Kenyans. He says yesterday, it was a unique day in his business because the number of people crossing the border was very low and business remained at standstill throughout the day.
Recently, Kenya’s opposition leader, Raila Odinga rallied his supporters to come out in large numbers to take part in countrywide protests to demand that President William Ruto’s government lowers the cost of living. The opposition leader pointed to the rising cost of several basic items including fuel, cooking oil, school fees and electricity.
By the time our reporter (Magino Juma) accessed Busia County on the Kenyan side, many people were following the developments on Television and the “Posta Market” which registers massive attendance of people every Monday was as cool as an isolated area. As of 4:30PM on 20/3/2023, no protests were registered in Busia County in Kenya.
However, the security situation between the two countries remained tight especially on the Uganda side.
