Mr President, the State is helpless if matatu owners ground their vehicles

Matatus parked along Jogoo road during the Matatu country-wide strike on fuel hike in Nairobi on May 18, 2026. [Boniface Okendo, Standard]

The roughly 36-hour-long fuel protests by Matatu operators at the start of this week has exposed the long-term costs of corruption and ineptitude in government. The public spectacle on Monday evening before two powerful cabinet secretaries is unimaginable in ordinary times.

Yet, an ordinary man unceremoniously dissolved a high-stakes press briefing with the now-famous ‘with all due respect’ statement. To the ordinary eye, it may pass as another comic event in our never-ending public comedy on the management of public affairs. However, from a critical point of view, that moment demonstrated how the levers of power are tilted in favour of ruthless cartels that control public transport in the country.