Normalcy is returning to major towns and cities in the country following three weeks of anti-government protests that left more than 40 people dead, hundreds injured and property worth hundreds of millions damaged.
The capital, Nairobi saw the return to business as usual as most establishments opened on Thursday.
The same was witnessed in Kisumu, Mombasa and Nakuru, the other towns that have been at the centre of the anti-finance bill and anti-government protests.
For the last two weeks, Thursdays have been marked by anti-government protests in the city but today, things were different. Despite prior plans to continue with the protests the streets of the capital remained clear of any protesters.
Instead, there was cautious optimism and businesses slowly re-opened as the day wore on. They saw little to no sign of protests unlike last week or even earlier on Tuesday.
“Last Tuesday hatukufungua sababu ya hofu na kuvurugwa…kazi iliharibika. Those who had lost days of business were eager to recover that time,” said a businesswoman Faith Mutisya.
However even as they re-opened, they reported slow customer traffic attributed to fear that the protests would happen again today.
“This is a nail spa, nimefungua around 9 kusoma rada kwanza,” said Bishara Hassan, who owns a beauty shop.
Marin Obanda added: “Hakuna wateja kwa sababu wengi bado wanahofia… ukilinganisha na Monday biashara inajikokota.”
Transport had been paralysed during the weeks of protests and demonstrations.
On Thursday however, matatu operators went about their business of ferrying passengers almost seamlessly.
Their confidence was boosted by the presence of police officers who were deployed albeit in a scaled-down manner, especially on roads leading to parliament buildings and state houses.
In Nakuru, there was relative calm after recent protests saw large crowds of protesters turn out in the streets.
The same was evident in Mombasa, which also suffered serious destruction of businesses and property and things were back to normal as protesters kept away.
In Kisii town, residents pleaded with authorities to reign in individuals liable for break-ins amid anti-finance Bill Demos nationwide.
A spot check by Citizen TV on Thursday showed a slow return to normalcy even though some business operators expressed fear after goons vandalized their premises on Tuesday.
The protests which ran every Tuesday and Thursday for the last two weeks left more than 40 people dead, more than 600 injured and property worth billions of shillings destroyed after turning violent.