Sections of roads within Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) were rendered impassable after matatu operators blocked key routes in an apparent protest.
This marked the second wave of protests in less than two weeks, with operators parking their vehicles in the middle of Moi Avenue to demonstrate against their eviction from designated parking spots and stages within the CBD.
Images and videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke show several buses stalled along Moi Avenue near Kencom, obstructing traffic and forcing other motorists to seek alternative routes.
Despite belonging to different SACCOs, the matatu operators appeared united in their demonstration, arguing that they had no alternative parking spaces for their vehicles.
Kenyans.co.ke has also received reports that the operators were concerned about a popular matatu SACCO which was intent on monopolising the industry in the city.
While the protests remained largely peaceful, police struggled to restore order as operators turned up in large numbers with their vehicles.
As a result of the industrial action, sections of Moi Avenue—particularly around Kencom and the Ambassador area—became impassable. The PSVs blocking the route are believed to operate along the Ngong Road/Kawangware, Utawala, Buruburu, Ngong, and Pipeline/Donholm routes.
This was the latest wave of protests by PSV operators within Nairobi’s CBD, following a recent standoff between them and hawkers.
On January 30, matatu operators blocked major roads in protest against the county government's decision to allocate parking spaces to hawkers to clear pedestrian walkways on busy streets.
Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja's move to transfer hawkers to backstreets came at the expense of matatu operators, who rely on these areas as their main termini for passenger pick-up and drop-off.
Sakaja specifically listed Moi Avenue, Haile Selassie Avenue, Kenneth Matiba Road, Latema Road, Ronald Ngala Street, Mfangano Street, Hakati Road, and River Road as areas that are off-limits to hawkers.
At the time, a temporary solution was arrived at after mediation talks between the two parties, led by Michael Waikenda, the Chief Officer of Mobility.
However, the amicable truce appears to have been short-lived as matatu operators are still intent that their operations have been made difficult due to their inability to adequately access parking spaces within the CBD.
