'No Africans' Chinese restaurant owner arrested in Nairobi

A construction worker on a railway project near Makueni, Kenya has witnessed an extraordinary rise in Chinese economic engagement over the past decade. Photograph: Pan Siwei/Xinhua Press/Corbis

The owner of a Chinese restaurant in Nairobi that operated a no Africans policy has been arrested after media reports about the establishment triggered an outcry on social media.

Zhao Yang was charged with operating a restaurant without a valid licence only hours after the Daily Nation, Kenyas biggest newspaper, published a front-page story about the restaurant.

Co-owner Esther Zhao told the newspaper that Africans posed a security risk and needed to be kept out after 5pm. We dont admit Africans that we dont know because you never know who is al-Shabaab and who isnt, she said, referring to the Somali-based terror group blamed for a number of attacks in Kenya in recent years.

We dont admit Africans that we dont know because you never know who is Al-Shabaab and who isnt

It is not like it is written on somebodys face that they are a thug armed with a gun.

Staff were quoted saying the restaurants security detail were under strict instruction not to let in any Africans in the evening, although one or two loyal customers were allowed.

The story triggered outrage across the internet. Under the hashtag #noblacksallowed, Twitter users called for the restaurant to be shut down.

I dont understand how this article isnt ironic. This cant be real, one reader, Aisha, said. Most commentators demanded the deportation of the restaurant owners.

There is a proverb, loosely translated, which says if you hate the cow, you should also shun leather, one said. Let the Chinese go do this in China. This is Kenya, and if there is something they do not like, they are free to leave.

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'No Africans' Chinese restaurant owner arrested in Nairobi