Nairobi News

Must ReadNews

City Hall launches crackdown on matatu termini in city centre


Nairobi County Government will on Wednesday start a crackdown on illegal matatu termini in a renewed campaign to decongest the city centre.

The crackdown will target matatu termini on Ronald Ngala Street and the one next to Gill House, on Tom Mboya street.

This comes a day after a directive by Governor Evans Kidero that cancelled all parking permits for Public Service Vehicles in the Central Business District.

Traders in the CBD had threatened to withhold taxes to the county government if haphazard allocation of matatu (bus) stops is not rectified within 90 days.

The crackdown will next week be on Tom Mboya Street where all PSV parking there will be cleared.

Nairobi County Executive Transport Mohamed Abdulahi said that illegal drop-off and pick-up points in the CBD had caused disorganization in the city.

“We only have five legal bus termini that include Koja roundabout, the bus station, Muthurwa, Railways and Harakati. Every matatu operator knows about this, all the others (termini) are operating illegally,”said Mr Mohamed.

Mr Mohamed said Wednesday crackdown on illegal termini will be ‘diplomatic’.

“We do not want chaos and drama during the crackdown. What we want is diplomacy from our officers telling the matatus that there is no picking and dropping off passengers in these stages,” said Mohamed.

He said that over 70 percent of public service vehicles operating in the CBD are using fake parking permits.

Mr Mohamed said that they will revoke all parking permits and start new registration to phase out fake ones issued by rogue officers.