Conductor Dies After Colleagues Beat Him for Overcharging Passengers

A matatu conductor operating the Mwiki-Kasarani route is said to have been beaten to death by his colleagues for allegedly overcharging passengers.

Julius Kamau was allegedly assaulted by officers from the Mwiki Sacco Limited (MSL) for charging passengers Ksh100 instead of the normal Ksh80 fare.

The MSL officers are alleged to have assaulted Kamau accusing him of tarnishing the Sacco’s name after asking customers how much they were charged.

According to Kamau's wife Winfred Kimanzi, her husband returned home with a swollen face and injuries in the mouth and complained of severe body pain.

“He came home and showed me the injuries. His face was swollen and he also had been injured in the mouth," Winfrey stated.

[caption caption="Commuters stranded after MSL operators strike"][/caption]

"He told me he did not see the point of charging the passengers Ksh80 then drop them off at Stima area and leave them stranded looking for another vehicle to take them to Mwiki. So he decided to charge Ksh100 then go straight to Mwiki,” she added.

Winfred further told journalists that her husband could barely walk as he was being taken to the Kiambu Hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.

The MSL Sacco has since denied that the attackers were their officers and on Monday morning, commuters were stranded on the Mwiki, Kasarani route following a strike by MSL operators over alleged harassment by Sacco officials.

However, a former conductor with the MSL, Samuel Mungai, alleged that there has been a habit of certain officers in the Sacco beating up matatu operators.

[caption caption="Striking MSL operators"][/caption]

Meanwhile, a post-mortem is set to be conducted on Kamau’s body on Monday to ascertain the cause of death.

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