Header Ads

‘Kenya Mpya’, ‘Joy Kenya’ turf wars spill over to Meru matatus.

A Kenya Mpya bus picks passengers in front of the Meru Shuttle parking space at the Thika Main Bus Terminus as a KST matatu tries to squeeze it way out of the mess.

A fierce war of words erupted involving two matatu Saccos and Neo Kenya Mpya Bus Company on Friday morning over parking space at the Thika Main Bus terminus, disrupting transport services for members of the public for a couple of hours.

Unique Shuttle that plies its trade between Thika and Meru and Eastern Bypass Sacco engaged in a row with Kenya Mpya over who should have exclusive rights to the picking and dropping bay at terminus.

They accused Kenya Mpya of invading onto their designated parking space after they were ejected from their previous space by Joy Kenya following a long standing dispute between the two sister bus companies. They also accused them of colluding with Thika sub-county administration officers to snatch their parking slots.

“This is unacceptable! Kenya Mpya wants to bulldoze into our space after losing out on their turf wars with Joy Kenya. They have gone and bribed their way here through officials at the county government offices to shove us off a space we have operated for years,” said one tout from Meru’s Unique Shuttle.

A driver with Eastern Bypass Sacco said that their application to have the space they were using was duly approved thus failed to understand how Kenya Mpya gained the rights to ‘rob’ them of their space.

“Hapa Kenya mnyonge hana haki. Hapa ni pesa zinatumika ili kutunyanyasa sisi ambao hatuna chetu,” he said. (In Kenya, the poor have no rights. Money has changed hands here so as to oppress us.)

They described the move by the county authorities as bad for business as it denied them a chance to operate under the same regime of rules, fearing that their investments risked going to waste.

The standoff saw Kenya Mpya buses block the matatus right of way, picking passengers from the spot.

Transport services normalised later amidst tense atmosphere at the park.

Efforts to get Kenya Mpya’s side of the story were fruitless as none of those present were willing to talk to the press.

No comments:

Powered by Blogger.