Matatu operators in Nairobi’s Central Business District (CBD) on Monday, February 10, 2025, momentarily blocked the roads in and out of town in protest over eviction from their original stages and parking spots.
The public service vehicles on Monday, February 10, 2025, caused a snarl-up on the main roads in and out of the CBD, forcing county traffic marshals and traffic police officers to swoop in and bring order.
The protest was occasioned by the operators being instructed to look for alternative parking and stages amid ongoing repair works and cleaning of hawkers from the heart of the city.
Similar protest
The protest comes just days after a similar one occurred on January 30, 2025, when matatu operators downed their tools and blocked all roads into the CBD over what they termed an invasion of their parking spaces by hawkers.
During the protest, several roads including Moi Avenue, Tom Mboya Street, Accra Road and Ronald Ngala Street were affected.
The matatu operators were seen playing football games on the choked-up roads as motorists remained stuck in the ensuing traffic for hours.
The traffic snarl-up followed a massive clean-up of the CBD which saw Nairobi County askaris chase away hawkers on the walkways along major streets in the town.
Battle for space
The hawkers gathered in the backstreets, areas originally occupied by public service vehicle operators, leading to confrontations.
Albert Karakacha, the chairperson of the Matatu Owners Association, at the time, defended the operators, noting that they were only demanding their right to work.
“There was a crisis within the CBD because of the parking of matatus. And the problem was because the hawkers were trying to invade the parking for matatus,” Karakacha narrated.
He indicated that the operators should be entitled to the parking spaces and stages since matatu SACCOs pay regularly for these spots.
“We normally pay parking fees every month. We call it seasonal parking. All SACCOs do pay,” Karakacha remarked.
The battle for spaces in the CBD has put traders on a collision path with the Nairobi County government which argues that the traders constrict walkways and block views in the city, making it hard for pedestrians to freely move.
In the clean-up exercise by the County government, sign boards and posts were removed from city streets as enforcement officers noted that they were illegally placed in disregard of county laws.
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