Court Blocks Sakaja's Move To Kick Out Nyanza, Western & Rift Valley Matatus

Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has been hit with a blow after the High Court stopped the move to relocate matatus plying the Nyanza, Western Kenya and Rift Valley routes to the Green Park terminus.

The court issued orders on Thursday, December 1 stopping the relocation of the matatus from their current locations pending the determination of the case on December 13, 2022.

In the case, at least eight long-distance travel operators moved to court to challenge Sakaja's directive that had compelled them to move to the terminus by December 1.

The operators termed the move discriminatory as it left out some of their rivals. In addition, it would expose them to huge losses and inconvenience long-distance travellers who travel with relatively large luggage, especially during the festive season.

The petitioners in the case include North Rift Luxury Shuttle, Madaraka Prestige, Transline, Great Rift Shuttle, Legacy Luxury, Kina 2015 Classic, Sasaline Classic Shuttle, Blue line, Team Swat and Transliner Galaxy.

Sakaja moved to kick out the matatus from the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD)  after a meeting was held between the county government and the matatu saccos among other stakeholders on Friday, November 18 at Charter Hall.

Following the meeting, acting Nairobi County secretary Jairus Musumba published the new guidelines on Monday, November 28 that will see the affected matatus stop at Green Park Terminus.

"All PSV SACCOs and PSV companies offering services between Nyanza, Western, North Rift, South Rift, and Central Rift who are currently operating from Nairobi's Central Business District (CBD) will be relocated to the Green Park Terminus in the first phase," Musumba stated in part.

Musumba termed the move as part of plans to reorganize the Public Service Vehicle (PSV) sector for matatus plying upcountry routes from the city.

The Green Park terminus adjacent to the revamped Uhuru Park which cost Ksh250 million to build has had the official commencement of operations stalled several times. It was meant to be used by city matatus plying Lang'ata and Ngong Road routes.

The terminus was to be among six termini the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) planned to set up to decongest human traffic in the city.

The matter of matatus in the Nairobi CBD has traversed almost every county administration, ranging from Evans Kidero's term to Sonko's term as well as the tenure of the NMS.

Sonko's ban on matatus from the CBD in 2018 triggered a transport crisis in the city with residents resorting to using their cars, leading to huge traffic jams. It was reconsidered after only a few days in operation.