The Matatus’ return to Nakuru CBD two years after their eviction was brief, with reports indicating that they were repulsed an hour later.
As anti-riot police officers, traffic cops, and county askaris began patrolling the Central Business District mid-morning on Wednesday, the matatus were seen leaving the city.
The Matatus, which had been ejected from the CBD in order to alleviate congestion, returned to their old designated terminus.
The move comes a day after Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika toured the four matatu termini in Nakuru Town’s outskirts and assured matatu operators that proper structures will be put in place to ensure matatu operators have a centralized terminus equipped with social amenities.
Kihika assured the operators that public participation would take place to ensure their satisfaction with the new modern stage.
Governor Susan Kihika while speaking to the media on Wednesday announced that her administration would form a task force to investigate what needs to be done to streamline the transportation sector in Nakuru Town.
“We want to come up with permanent solutions for the city that will be good and favourable to those in the public sector as well as the passengers,” Governor Kihika said.
The county boss noted the taskforce would commence work on Thursday to help streamline the issue.
“The taskforce will help up, some may remain where they are but with facilities and some will be moved, and that sort of thing… but let me not run too far ahead, lets wait for the taskforce,” she added.
Matatus were evicted from Nakuru CBD in 2020, during the tenure of former Governor Lee Kinyanjui.
Governor Kihika, who campaigned on a promise to listen to the plight of matatu operators, has prioritized the issue.
During the eviction, matatu operators complained on several occasions about a lack of proper amenities in the new designated stages, poor street lighting, and low business returns.
The operators staged protests in September 2020, pleading with the then-county executive to allow them to resume operations in the Central Business District.
Their concerns, however, were dismissed because measures to evict them had already been put in place and implemented.
Despite opposition from matatu operators, Nakuru was the first county to ensure matatu operations were conducted outside of the central business district.
