Matatu Owners Demand Cashless System as Gachagua, Sakaja Row Continues

A collage image of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addressing the media on January 5, 2022  (left) and long distance buses within the CBD (right).
A collage image of Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja addressing the media on January 5, 2022 (left) and long distance buses within the CBD (right).
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Johnson Sakaja

Matatu Owners Association called for the introduction of a cashless system in Nairobi city transport as Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua tussled with Governor Johnson Sakaja over matatu phaseout.

Speaking during an interview on NTV on Wednesday, January 11, the association's CEO, Patricia Mutheu, explained that the move would be beneficial to the transport system by making it seamless.

She added that the move would also help boost the industry which has been affected by corruption.

"One of the things we want to have in the industry is a cashless system. Once we reduce corruption by 50 per cent then we will avoid all this rush because there is no ready money. 

A file image of matatus parked along Accra road in Nairobi County.
A file image of matatus parked along Accra road in Nairobi County.

"They (drivers and touts) will also adhere to the law," Mutheu stated.

Additionally, the association demanded participation in the city engineering and review of the city planning noting that they were key stakeholders in the matter.

She acknowledged that the city population was growing hence stretching the current system that had been in place over the years.

However, she intimated that kicking the matatus out of the CBD was not a solution to the city's transport menace.

"60 per cent of people walk in the CBD. We also have bodaboda and private vehicles and they also represent a percentage. Why are we victimised and becoming a target yet we are providing much-needed solutions?

"Remember that the fuel pumps, youth, stage attendants, hawkers and the county depend on us. Do you think this is a docket that can be pushed here and there?"  She posed.

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja's move to redirect long-distance vehicles to stages outside the CBD saw him get criticised by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua - who argued that it affected businesses both in the city and the neighboring counties.

The long-distance vehicles plying the Western Kenya route were redirected to the Green Park terminus.

On the other hand, Sakaja maintained that the move was necessary in order to restore order in the city transport sector.

“Nairobi is not competing with Kisumu or any other city, we are competing with other international cities and to achieve that we have to make some changes,” Sakaja stated during a presser on January 5.

DP Rigathi Gachagua registers as a farmer t my Farm in Wamunyoro Village, Mathira West Subcounty, on January, 9, 2023.
DP Rigathi Gachagua registers as a farmer at his Farm in Wamunyoro Village, Mathira West Subcounty, on January 9, 2023.
Rigathi Gachagua
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