NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 27 — China Square, a retail store at Kenyatta University’s Unicity Mall, has extended the suspension of its operations citing public safety challenges.
The store owned by Chinese businessman Lei Cheng announced the move on Sunday after hours of escalating drama following deportation threats by Trade Cabinet Secretary Moses Kuria.
“As a supermarket, we are unable to handle the high volume of traffic, which has become a severe concern for the public safety of all our customers, we are arranging more security guards onsite,” China Square said in a statement.
The supermarket also cited an inability to provide sufficient payment processing facilities, a situation it noted had resulted in long queues which had negatively impacted customer experience.
Earlier on Lei had dismissed calls for him to close shop as malicious.
Lei said his business is compliant with all legal requirements.
“My business is legal and is centered on healthy competition,” he said. “We followed all government requirements for setting up a business and a here to break monopolies.”
Lei blamed his accusers saying they were seeking to perpetuate the continued exploitation of the Kenyan consumer by rogue businesspersons.
He responded even as Kuria vowed to deport him and any foreign national engaged in retail trade, terming his Unicity Mall store as a threat to local traders.
Kuria’s intervention followed a protest memorandum by a business association bringing together representatives of traders in Nairobi’s leading markets.
The lobby due to meet Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Wednesday decried what it termed as unfair competition by Lei’s business.
