Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko Shuts Down Chandarana Foodplus Outlets over Racism Claims

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has ordered the cancellation of licenses for all Chandarana Foodplus supermarkets in the city.

Sonko announced the shutdown of the chain retailer following claims of racial bias that have sparked outrage from Kenyan social media users.

In a statement to newsrooms, the Governor said he has directed the enforcement of the shutdown beginning Monday.

Chandarana Foodplus has been on the spot after a racially sensitive email leaked online over the weekend, sparking fury.

 “We are delighted to inform you that our supermarket chain, would like to give you free vouchers to winner/raffles/best performer/runners-up candidate in upcoming events. As we are now focusing on white people to attract our supermarkets," the email to managers from the retail giant’s Marketing Specialist Rima Patel read.

The email communication appeared to imply that the retail chain was only interested in white customers.

In a statement after the resulting outrage, Chandarana Supermarket apologized for the email stating that it as an error made by “one of our very new and recent hires in the marketing department.”

“Her lack of proficiency in the English language is an easy way to justify this horrendous error.”

“The immense magnitude of this error undoubtedly comes to us as a severe embarrassment and all the apologies in the world cannot make such a wrong a right again,” added the supermarket.