THURSSDAY, 4.00PM
BUSINESSMEN of Asian origin are fleeing Kenya in the run-up to general elections, set for December 29, an airline manager said on Thursday.
The same phenomenom occurred during elections in Uganda and Tanzania last year, when businessmen of Asian origin — usually Indian — took long holidays abroad with their families. In those two cases, the Asians returned after the elections and their aftermath proved peaceful.
Charles Kutwa, Air Mauritius regional manager for East and West Africa, said Kenyan businessmen of Asian origin are already leaving the country en masse for holidays in Mauritius and elsewhere. “We are ferrying quite a number of the Asian businessmen from Nairobi to Mauritius who are running away from the heat of the election and we expect that as the date approaches we will have many more,” he said.
The Asian community in East Africa is often the target of racial abuse, accused of corruption and of ill-treating Africa employees. Kenya’s estimated 100 000 Asias, who dominate the retail trade, are often accused of amassing wealth but holding themselves aloof from African society. Several prominent Asians have been implicated in financial scandals which have destabilised the Kenyan economy in recent years. Some are also accused of acting as front men for corrupt African politicians.
Business analysts said that with Kenyan Asians controlling key sectors of the economy, particularly retailing, their flight until after the elections is likely to hurt an economy already in trouble. It will also cut into the Asian retailers’ Christmas profits. At this time of year, Nairobi’s shops are usually festooned with Christmas decorations as the hard sell begins, but this year, few lights and streamers are in evidence.