NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 17 — After the government suspended the Sh100 unga subsidy on Saturday, the commodity is now available in some supermarkets at the regular Sh200 price.
The subsidy was announced by President Uhuru Kenyatta a few weeks before the 2022 general election but was suspended three days after the polls.
A spot check by Capital FM at different supermarkets in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) noted maize flour was available in some supermarkets though some didn’t stock it at all.
No maize flour was stocked at Quickmart Pioneer whereas it was retailing at the Tom Mboya’s branch.
Quickmart Tom Mboya’s outlet had Ugali Afya (Winnie’s Pure Health) brand which was retailing at Sh 131 for the 1kg packet which was the only one available.
The situation was not different at Tuskys supermarket as the Tom Mboya branch had no maize flour at all. The shelves were completely empty.
From the spot check, only Naivas supermarket was retailing unga across its various branches.
At the Moi Avenue branch, the commodity was retailing at Sh231 for a 2kg pack of Amaize and Sh257 for Raha Premium Kavagara 2kg pack.
The prices were the same across their various outlets with the Naivas Ronald Ngala Branch retailing Ugali Afya (Winnie’s Pure Health) at Sh. 250 and Raha Kavagara going for Sh. 257 for a 2kg packet.
The Kenyatta Avenue and Naivas Lifestyle CBD (Hazina Trade Centre) retailed Amaize brand at Sh. 231 for a 2kg packet.
There were mixed reactions from some shoppers at the supermarkets as some were not willing to buy the commodity whereas others were in dire need of it, especially in the supermarkets that did not stock unga.
Josephine Wanjiku, a shopper at Tuskys Tom Mboya Street was shocked to find the shelves of the supermarket empty.
“Where is the maize flour? I don’t care about the price. If I get it somewhere else I will buy it. Otherwise, what will I eat? “she posed.
Benjamin Muriithi, another shopper at Naivas Moi Avenue branch noted he would rather stick to getting maize flour from the posho mill as the price was too high for him to afford.
“I better wait for the prices to go down. Otherwise, let me continue getting my maize flour from the posho mill,” he stated.
