Governor Kinyanjui bans matatus from Nakuru CBD in pursuit of city status

Matatus will not be allowed to access the Nakuru Central Business District (CBD) from Monday in a county move to decongest the town as it nears city status.

The matatus were relocated from the CBD in March but the reason was to decongest termini and tame the spread of the coronavirus.

Governor Lee Kinyanjui has now banned the public transport vehicles from the CBD.

"We have now decided that no matatus will be allowed back to the CBD," he said on Friday while presiding over the launch of the five-year strategic plan of Our Lady of Mercy Mission Hospital in Nakuru Town.

"The move is aimed at ensuring our town grows. My administration will make sure matatu operators are comfortable in the places they were relocated to. We will ensure the new matatu termini outside the CBD have social amenities like toilets as well as water."

This means commuters will walk longer distances from the CBD to board vehicles to destinations outside Nakuru Town.

Matatu saccos have long operated from the CBD, where they have opened offices, but they park their vehicles on the streets causing congestion and impeding free flow of traffic.

Among those that have offices within the CBD are Mololine Prestige Shuttle, Prestige Shuttle, 2NK, Nyakakima Line, Nairobi Line and Njoro Line.

Protests

The county boss made the announcement barely a month after matatu operators held a protest, demanding to be allowed back into the town.

The announcement is likely to spark a showdown between matatu operators and the county government, as was the case in July.

Demonstrations on July 28 came after more than 50 vehicles were impounded due to lack of Covid-19 certificates as per a directive by the Ministry of Transport.

The matatu operators, through their chairman Francis Njoroge, claimed they were dumped in areas unfavourable for their business.

"The places outside the CBD do not have social amenities like toilets. Whenever it rains, the situation becomes pathetic, with passengers having to crowd in vehicles due to lack of shades," said Mr Njoroge.

"Vehicles get stuck in mud forcing locals to push them, risking their lives.”

The matatu operators also complained of harassment by county askaris and said they wanted to return to the old bus stops.

In response, Governor Kinyanjui said he will ensure the new termini are refurbished.

Consultations

Most termini were relocated to areas including Ziwani, Kwa Jack and Railways grounds, all out of town.

The transports read mischief in  the move, alleging a ploy by Governor Kinyanjui's administration to kick them out of the CBD without proper consultations, and immediately started resisting.

"We knew this was a well orchestrated plan to kick us out of the CBD but we will fight back and return by force.  We cannot be dumped outside town where there are no sanitation amenities and water yet we are fending for our families," driver Peter Kariuki told the Nation.

The transporters say they must be involved fully if the goal is their permanent relocation from the CBD.

"The county government must provide alternative termini matatus with favourable conditions. We are ready to work with the county in streamlining operations in the town but more consultations need to take place,” said sacco leader  Patrick Ombati.

Local leaders including Senator Susan Kihika and Nakuru Town East MP David Gikaria have also criticised the county, saying it is punishing business people already weighed down by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Senator Kihika accused Nakuru of harassing business people under the guise of fighting the pandemic.

"It is wrong to relocate matatus to places which lack sanitation amenities and proper entry and exit points. In these strenuous times, when thousands are getting laid off from work, we need to protect the few employers who are still operational," she said.

New design

Before the outbreak of the virus, the county kicked off an ambitious bid to redesign Nakuru Town and reduce crowding in its journey to become a city.

The proposal to attain city status is already before the Senate Committee on Devolution and Intergovernmental Relation.

The Nakuru Public Opinion Consultative Forum has urged the county government to convene a meeting of all stakeholders for an amicable solution on the issues.

"There is a need for the county to hire an expert to develop an Integrated Urban Transport Master Plan in the next five years. The county should also hold an urgent stakeholders’ meeting to address low business in the Nakuru CBD and the matatus issue,"he said.

Nakuru acquired land at the Gate House roundabout that was previously occupied by a private company and revealed plans to establish an ultra-modern PSV park.

In 2015, the then Governor Kinuthia Mbugua successfully relocated hawkers from the CBD in efforts against congestion.

Hundreds of street vendors moved from the CBD where they had occupied pavements, way-lanes and building corridors.

Although this was Mr Mbugua’s biggest achievement, which earned him lots of praise, it played a major role in his defeat in the elections  as the hawkers regrouped and vowed to send him home in the 2017 General Election.

He was defeated in his bid to recapture the governor seat by Mr Kinyanjui in the  2017 General Elections.

The hawkers were unhappy as they were relocated to back streets and areas behind the CBD such as Oginga Odinga Road, which lacked basic facilities and had few customers.

Most of them were later accommodated at the Nasher Square and Wakulima markets, which are not too far away from the CBD.