With stalls heaving under the weight of brilliant red African
dresses, traditional masks, assorted artefacts, bracelets and leather
goods, the Maasai market is one of the most popular stops for tourists
seeking mementoes of an east African safari.
But as Kenya prepares to mark a year since the deadly Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, shoppers are few and far between and business is slack – a palpable sign of the economic impact of the biggest terror attack in the region in 15 years.
"It is the worst situation I have seen in the 13 years I have been in this trade," said Geoffrey Mwange, a 40-year-old father of two seated next to his stand of wooden carvings of the big five animals that usually draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to game parks every year. "Almost all the tourists are gone and I'm now having to take loans here and there to stay afloat and to pay the three workers at my workshop."
The attack at Westgate inflicted deep psychological wounds on east Africa's main transport and economic hub.
But as Kenya prepares to mark a year since the deadly Westgate mall attack in Nairobi, shoppers are few and far between and business is slack – a palpable sign of the economic impact of the biggest terror attack in the region in 15 years.
"It is the worst situation I have seen in the 13 years I have been in this trade," said Geoffrey Mwange, a 40-year-old father of two seated next to his stand of wooden carvings of the big five animals that usually draw hundreds of thousands of tourists to game parks every year. "Almost all the tourists are gone and I'm now having to take loans here and there to stay afloat and to pay the three workers at my workshop."
The attack at Westgate inflicted deep psychological wounds on east Africa's main transport and economic hub.
