On Monday, hundreds of commuters were left stranded at the Kencom Stage in Nairobi’s city center as sacco operators engaged in a scuffle regarding the allocation of a parking space.
Unbeknown to many, the physical confrontation between operators of Super Metro Sacco and Double M Sacco was the tip of the iceberg on an ongoing wrangle between the county government and a section of the operators who accuse senior officials of taking bribes and carrying out double allocation of spaces.
Ms Naomi Mangera, a proprietor of Tiwamba Sacco is one of such victims.
On February 17, 2023, Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja held a meeting at Charter Hall with the matatu operators.
He instructed all the operators to return the pick-up and drop off letters that they had been issued so that they would be issued with fresh letters.
Ms Mangera returned her letter and applied for a new letter from the county to secure her pick-up point located along Tom Mboya Street.
It is during this time that Ms Mang’era says a section of officials approached her seeking a ‘facilitation’ fee to ensure she gets back her spot.
“I have been following the matter with the county government since 2023. Every time I go there, I am usually told to ‘go’ and meet someone so that my issues can be sorted out. Interestingly, the person that I am told to meet is not an official from the county government,” Ms Mang’era told Nation.Africa.
In October 2024, she says that after following up with the county government, she finally managed to get a letter authorizing her to operate from the spot opposite the Kenya Tea Development Authority (KTDA) Farmer’s Building.
A letter seen by Nation.Africa and issued by Dr Machel Waikenda, the Nairobi County Chief Officer for Mobility, indicated she would only operate two vehicles at a time at the location.
“The Registered Company Tiwamba Ricon Sacco Limited is licensed by the National Transport and Safety Authority to provide passenger service between Nairobi CBD, Mombasa Road and Kangundo road. That you shall pick and drop passengers at the designated areas along the route and terminate/originate at Tom Mboya Street,” read the letter.
Despite having the letter, for the past few months Ms Mang’era says she has been unable to claim her spot which has now been taken over by Rembo Sacco Ltd.
“There is a lot of intimidation and harassment. The stage is manned by goons and the moment you go there, you are usually attacked and injured. Most of my members have since moved to my competitors and I am unable to generate revenue,” she says.
A number of operators who spoke on condition of anonymity claim the officials request for a fee ranging between Sh500,000 to Sh1million for allocation of a pick-up and drop off point. Some companies with more fleets also pay a higher fee to get the spot.
Mr David Makau (not his real name), a matatu operator in CBD, claims the funds are collected on behalf of the officials using proxies. In his case, he claims he paid Sh1million to be allocated a space along Tom Mboya Street.
“They usually tell you to go see someone so that your issue is sorted. They then instruct you to meet at a specific hotel and after fulfilling the condition, you are allocated a spot. It does not matter whether there is a separate sacco already operating there. In some cases, they allocate you even at junctions,” he said.
For Ms Mary Mwangi, the proprietor of Double M sacco that has been operating from Kencom Stage along Moi Avenue for the past 30 years, the use of goons by a section of operators who forcefully takeover space has left her frustrated.
“It is a sad state of affairs. We have been in the matatu business for the past 43 years as a company but we have never seen such. It has reached a point where some officials are taking money from saccos and allocating space without caring whether they have met the requirement,” she says.
Ms Mwangi said during the era of former Transport Minister, the late John Michuki, all the pick-up and drop-off points were allocated based on a specific criterion including meeting the number of vehicles.
“We were allocated the Kencom stage following a rigorous process and after meeting all the requirements including owning 30 vehicles as a lead owner. We met all this and since 2009 we have occupied the spot until the new sacco came to claim it with forged letters,” she says.
For the past two years, there has been an influx of picking and drop -off points within CBD. For instance, along Ronald Ngala Street, Nation.Africa counted several spots used by matatus. Two of them are at the entrance of Quickmart Supermarket making the road impassable and causing unnecessary traffic jams. Along Tom Mboya Street, the situation is similar with most of the PSVs blocking roads.
The Nairobi City County government through the county executive for mobility Ibrahim Nyangoya acknowledged that there is an influx of picking spots for the matatus and said the county is planning to fix the mess.
“As a county government we do not condone any illegal allocations of public transport spaces. The ongoing review of pickup and drop-off points aims to eliminate unauthorized stages and introduce a transparent and structured system. Any county official found engaging in such activities will face disciplinary action,” Mr Nyangoya told Nation.Africa.
“We are also working closely with the relevant authorities to ensure that all designated pickup and drop-off points are legally established and fairly allocated to public service vehicles,” he added.
