Matatus Issue New Strike Notice After Govt Meeting

File image of matatus on the streets of Nairobi
File image of matatus on the streets of Nairobi
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Matatu operators have issued a new strike notice on Tuesday, October 27, just a day after calling off their strike following a meeting with government ministries.

The Matatu Operators Association called for a new strike on Tuesday, November 3 should the government fail to address a number of concerns they have raised.

Key among the concerns of the matatu owners is the 60% capacity directive that they want to be scrapped claiming it has negatively affected their business.

An image of Jamal Ibrahim
Chairman of the Matatu Operators in Nairobi's CBD, Jamal Ibrahim addressing the media.
Citizen Digital

The Chairperson of the Matatu and Bodaboda Operators Federation, Kushian Muchiri revealed that the matatus have issued a seven-day ultimatum to the government.

"We are giving the government up to Tuesday next week which either rail or air should carry 60% or matatus will carry 100% full capacity.

"We called off the strike yesterday after consultations with the Interior Ministry and Transport and said this week we will have a meeting to sort out issues we are having," he noted.

The matatu bosses are citing unfairness from the government as other modes of transports such as trains and flights are allowed to operate under full capacity.

The stakeholders claim that since the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) took over Nairobi County matatus have been paying varying fees to operate in the CBD which they term as unfair.

With NMS set to kick matatus outside the Central Business District (CBD), the stakeholders have opposed the move and want the issues addressed.

The Chairman of the Matatu Operators in Nairobi CBD, Jamal Ibrahim, however, was positive that the government would revise the capacity issue.

"We had a meeting with officials from the Ministries of Transport and Interior who asked for a week to sort out capacity issue so we decided to call off the strike.

"We issued a valid reason because our competitors like SGR are in full capacity and the Government promised to resume full capacity failure to which will lead to a nationwide strike," he explained.

File images of matatus at a bus terminus in Nairobi
File images of matatus at a bus terminus in Nairobi
Citizen Digital