• In a statement on X Monday evening, the senator asked Sakaja to rein in on the vehicular congestion which he said also poses a security concerns.
• Attempts to rid the Central Business District of matatus and boda bodas have failed over the years as efforts by Sakaja and his predecessor Mike Sonko hit a snag.
Image: BONI KHALWALE/X
Kakamega Senator Boni Khalwale has called out Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja over what he says is 'choking' congestion.
In a statement on X Monday evening, the senator asked Sakaja to rein in on the vehicular congestion which he said also poses security concerns.
"The Nairobi CBD is choking with matatus, coupled with boda bodas riding in every way and muggings, at corners. The governor and the Minister for Interior Security must put any other considerations to bed and clean up this mess and chaos," Khalwale said.
Attempts to rid the Central Business District of matatus and boda bodas have failed over the years as efforts by Sakaja and former governor Mike Sonko hit a snag.
Sonko was on December 4, 2018, forced to lift a ban on matatus entering the CBD following public outcry and chaotic traffic jam the previous day.
He said commuters who included the sick and the elderly suffered when the ban was effected and described it as unfortunate saying the move would require further consultations.
"Although the directive is well-intentioned, many innocent commuters, including senior citizens and those with health challenges requiring emergency medical attention, expectant mothers and children travelling with their parents, all suffered untold inconvenience, and this is regrettable,” Sonko said in a statement then.
Sonko had directed that all matatus drop and pick up passengers in matatu stages located outside the city centre.
There was public outcry after many commuters were forced to walk into the CBD from far-flung matatu termini.
Fast forward to November 2022, Sakaja attempted a similar move by directing long-distance matatus plying Western, Nyanza, and Rift Valley routes to pick up and drop passengers at the Green Park Terminus from December 1, 2022.
The court, however, put a stop to the directive after a section of long-distance travel operators challenged the decision terming it discriminatory as it excluded some of their rivals.
The status quo remains to date pending the resolution of the dispute.
The commissioning of the Nairobi Expressway on July 31, 2022, by former President Uhuru Kenyatta has done little to ease traffic congestion in the CBD.