Matatus protest against Michuki rules leaving Nairobians stranded

Nairobi residents on Monday woke up to the shock of matatu strike that left commuters stranded.

Commuters had to pay unreasonably high fares by the few matatus in operation to get to their destinations.

The matatu operators are protesting reintroduction of the ‘Michuki’ traffic rules.

The new crackdown is meant to streamline matatu sector and bring sanity back to the roads.

Police started enforcing Michuki traffic rules on Sunday, making a surprise crackdown in Nairobi.

They are primarily going after public service vehicles as part of measures to curb road carnage.

The rules introduced by former Transport Minister, the late John Michuki commonly known as Michuki rules, had been abandoned.

This has led to increased number of road accidents that have claimed many lives across the country.

The public transport operators have protested that without proper structures, the enforcement may not achieve results.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i attributed the high road accidents to “lack of observance of the laws governing traffic management.”

The CS urged the stakeholders to comply with the new rules.