Kalonzo calls on Ruto to hold dialogue with transport stakeholders over Matatu strike
By Ndiritu Wanjiru, May 18, 2026Wiper Patriotic Front leader Kalonzo Musyoka has called on President William Ruto to urgently direct his administration to open immediate and genuine dialogue with the transport sector alliance following the ongoing nationwide transport paralysis.
In a public statement issued on Monday, May 18, 2026, Kalonzo said the grievances raised by transport operators were legitimate and could no longer be ignored by the government.
“President Ruto must direct his administration to open a genuine and immediate dialogue with the transport sector alliance. Their grievances are real, their members are suffering, and stonewalling them is not governance; it is negligence. The United Alternative Government stands ready to facilitate this process today,” Kalonzo stated.
The former vice president said the ongoing strike and disruption of transport services across the country were a direct result of the government’s recent fuel price increases, which he termed punitive and insensitive to the struggles facing ordinary Kenyans.
Kalonzo slams govt
Kalonzo accused the Kenya Kwanza administration of failing to engage stakeholders before implementing the sharp increase in fuel prices announced by the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) on May 14.
He argued that the increase in diesel and petrol prices had made operations unsustainable for many transport operators, forcing them to suspend services and triggering massive disruptions in movement and business activities.
The Wiper leader further warned that the crisis was already affecting supply chains and increasing the cost of essential commodities in different parts of the country.
Kalonzo said the opposition coalition under the United Alternative Government was ready to facilitate talks between the government and the transport sector alliance in a bid to end the stalemate.
Calls for Wandayi’s resignation
He also urged Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi to reverse the fuel price hike, saying the government must prioritise the welfare of Kenyans over punitive economic policies. Kalonzo further demanded the resignation of the CS, saying that Wandayi had failed to act on behalf of the people and act on the president’s behalf.
“The Cabinet Secretary for Energy, Hon. Opiyo Wandayi, must take the most consequential act of his tenure and one that history and the people of Kenya will remember: immediately reverse the fuel price hike and RESIGN. If he possesses the courage to act for the people rather than for Ruto, let him do so now.”
Kalonzo also said that Ruto’s regime must present a credible and transparent framework for stabilising fuel prices that protects ordinary Kenyans, not an ad hoc regulatory instrument wielded against the public interest.
The opposition leader maintained that immediate dialogue remained the only practical solution to restore normal transport operations and ease the growing economic pressure on wananchi.