Transport operators across Kenya have announced plans for a nationwide strike beginning Monday, February 2, citing escalating cases of vehicle vandalism and arson that they say have exposed motorists, investors and passengers to grave insecurity.
Leaders drawn from matatu operators, truck drivers, bus companies and private motorists said attacks on vehicles, often following road accidents, have become more frequent and increasingly brazen, with little or no intervention from law enforcement agencies.
Addressing the media in Nairobi, Intercorridor Mobility Association chairman Joseph Kagai said vehicles are now being torched in broad daylight, leaving operators counting losses worth millions of shillings and passengers traumatised.
“The transport sector has been left exposed. Investors have lost millions, and passengers are living in fear because vehicles are being attacked openly while law enforcement remains weak or absent,” Kagai said.
He cited several recent incidents, including the torching of a matatu on Juja Road on January 28, 2026, after an accident, and multiple cases reported in January in which at least nine vehicles, ranging from private cars to public service vehicles,were set ablaze in different parts of the country.
Similar incidents were reported in late 2025 along Thika Super Highway and in western Kenya.
According to the operators, the trend points to a serious breakdown of law and order on Kenyan roads.
“The transport sector cannot and will not operate under mob rule,” Kagai said, warning that continued inaction by authorities has left operators exposed and investments destroyed.
The transporters are now demanding urgent accountability from the Cabinet Secretary for Interior and National Coordination and the Cabinet Secretary for Roads and Transport, accusing the two ministries of failing to protect lives, property and the transport sector at large.
“We are demanding immediate and visible action to end vehicle torching, arrest and prosecute all perpetrators, and guarantee security for operators, motorists and passengers,” Kagai said.
They warned that unless decisive action is taken, the entire transport sector will down its tools nationwide from Monday.
“This action is not against the public. It is a stand for safety, justice and the survival of the transport sector,” he said.
Matatu Welfare Association vice chairman John Katimbwa said operators are operating on thin ice, arguing that the government has abdicated its responsibility to protect law-abiding citizens.
“If we are left to defend ourselves, then this country risks sliding into anarchy,” Katimbwa said, adding that criminal groups have taken advantage of the prevailing lawlessness to extort operators.
Truck Operators Association representative Kennedy Karisa said heavy commercial vehicles have also been targeted, describing the attacks as unacceptable and long-standing.
“This menace has gone on for too long, and we can no longer keep quiet as transporters,” Karisa said.
Private motorists, represented by the Motorists Association of Kenya, said earlier warnings to authorities had gone unanswered, despite fresh incidents being reported even after an ultimatum was issued.
While some attacks have been linked to boda boda riders, transport leaders said many riders have distanced themselves from the violence.
“We know that many boda boda riders are law-abiding and have condemned these criminal acts. A few rogue individuals should not tarnish the entire sector,” an association official said.
Despite the hardline stance, the transporters said they remain open to dialogue, stressing that Kenya is governed by the rule of law and that road accidents should be handled through legal channels, not mob justice.
