Feature: Obama "lockdown" extends from capital to upcountry Kenya

Nairobi, Kenya's capital, continued to experience stifled activities as U.S. President Barack Obama tour of the East African nation entered the second day on Saturday.

Most businesses in the central business district remain closed and public service vehicles kept off the road as thousands of residents stayed away from the city centre to avoid disruptions caused by closure of roads.

A good number of roads in the city have been closed from public use as a security measure and to pave way for smooth floor of the U.S. leader's motorcade.

"I chose to stay home because business has been disrupted in the city centre. Nairobi is a ghost town," said businessman Gilbert Wandera who runs a computer shop in the central business district.

While Wandera was happy that Obama had toured Kenya after a long wait, he was nervous about the effect of the visit on his business.

"I sell goods of at least 1,000 U.S. dollars every day. For the two days, I can say I have lost about 2,000 dollars, but I am hopeful that I will recover next week," he said.

However, as Nairobi experienced a slowdown in activities and businesspersons counted losses mainly due to the Obama disruption, in several upcountry towns in the East African nation, a different kind of a lockdown was ongoing.

Residents stayed away from their normal activities to follow the US President's visit on television at home and in entertainment spots.

Several local and international media houses are beaming the tour live to their audiences.

In Kisumu, Florence Auma, a second-hand clothes trader said on phone that business was slow on Saturday.

"Many people have stayed away from town to follow the visit on television. I had hoped to sell more of Obama merchandise today, but there are no people to buy the products," said the trader who had US and Kenya flags and T-shirts. The items were going at between 0.5 dollars and 4 dollars.

Ouma was worried that she would remain with the merchandise after Obama leaves Kenya, which means losses.

"If the U.S. leader had travelled to Kogelo in Siaya where his father was born, then things would have been different for us traders. Siaya is a few kilometres from Kisumu," she said.

As in Kisumu, in Nyeri, save for entertainment spots where residents trooped to follow the Obama tour on television, other businesses recorded slow activities.

Among them were public transport vehicles that ply from Nyeri to Nairobi. With the closure of the Thika superhighway, the vehicles could not access Nairobi, where they make up to four trips every day.

Operators of the vehicles, thus, whiled away time in the town waiting for the U.S. President to leave so that normal activities can resume.

Similar experiences were reported in Mombasa where most long distance busses suspended their journeys to Nairobi following the closure of key routes but mainly Mombasa Road, which links the capital with the coastal town.

However, the East African nation and its citizens expects to benefit from key deals sealed between the U.S. and Kenya, with one of them being that Visa validity for Kenyans travelling to the US has been extended to five years. Enditem