President William Ruto's Senior Adviser on Constitutional Affairs, Prof. Makau Mutua. Makau Mutua / X
President William Ruto's senior adviser on constitutional affairs, Pro Makau Mutua, has ignited fresh debate over urban transport after calling for the removal of tuk-tuks from Kenya's major roads and highways.
Mutua argues that the three-wheeled vehicles are unsuitable for high-speed traffic and diminish the appearance of cities.
In a statement posted on his official X account on Thursday, July 2, Mutua questioned why tuk-tuks continue to operate on major roads, saying they create unnecessary traffic disruptions and should instead be restricted from the major transport corridors.
"Why do we have tuk-tuks on major roads and highways, even in Nairobi? We shouldn't. These pathetic contraptions aren't roadworthy," Mutua wrote.
He added:
"They obstruct traffic, are completely unsightly, and degrade our capital city. Please remove them from our major roads in cities and towns."
Mutua's remarks have sparked widespread discussions, with his backers arguing that restricting slow-moving vehicles from highways could improve traffic flow and enhance road safety.
Others, however, contend that tuk-tuks play an important role in Kenya's transport system by providing affordable mobility and employment to thousands of operators, particularly in urban and peri-urban areas.
The comments come barely a day after the presidential adviser criticised the conduct of boda boda riders in Nairobi, accusing some of routinely riding against traffic despite the presence of law enforcement officers.
In that earlier statement, Mutua said:
"Why are boda boda riders riding against traffic everywhere in Nairobi? Why? Don't we have traffic police in this country? We cannot normalise such illegal, abnormal, and uncivilised conduct and still call ourselves a world-class city. We cannot! Those responsible must act NOW."
The latest proposal also revives a position Mutua has maintained for months regarding informal transport. In July 2025, he called for a complete ban on boda bodas from Kenya's major cities and towns, arguing that modern urban centres should not tolerate what he described as chaos, illegality and poor road discipline.
That proposal attracted sharp criticism from industry stakeholders, including the Boda Boda Association of Kenya, which argued that millions of Kenyans depend on the sector for their livelihoods and that such proposals contradict the government's Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA).
Although Mutua's latest remarks have generated intense public debate, they remain a personal policy proposal. The national government has not announced any official plan to ban tuk-tuks from major roads or highways.
