Matatu owners call for talks with govt to avert ongoing fuel protests
By Aloys Michael, May 18, 2026The Matatu Owners Association (MOA) has urged the government to engage stakeholders in talks over the escalating fuel prices and the ongoing strikes affecting the country.
In a press briefing on Monday, May 18, 2026, the association’s chairperson, Albert Karakacha, said MOA, together with various matatu operators and conglomerates, is willing to hold discussions with the government to prevent the transport disruption currently affecting major cities nationwide.
“We are urging them to sit down with us; we are ready to sit down with them if they are willing, and if they won’t do so, we will still continue with the strike, because we cannot push the price to the common mwananchi,” he stated.
Karakacha was adamant that the government’s failure to retaliate would result in continued industrial action, with transport set to be paralysed in the coming days.
MOA also confirms that the government has yet to engage them, despite the escalating situation in the country that has brought the transport sector and businesses in Nairobi and other parts of the country to a standstill.
“They have not reached out to us; we were waiting for them, and we have not heard anything from them,” Karakacha said.
The association’s president said the group is demanding the removal of all taxes imposed on fuel, including the eight per cent Value Added Tax (VAT), which was recently reduced from 16 per cent by President William Ruto.
Further, the association also wants the government to do away with the Ksh25 Road Maintenance Levy on petrol and diesel, arguing that the charges are responsible for the high fuel prices.
In his remarks, Karakacha dismissed the notion that diesel-powered public transport vehicles were participating in the strike, stating that petrol-powered vehicles were equally affected, and urged the press to report accurately.
“We must also report correctly, the fuel price hikes have affected everybody, because diesel drives the economy. Where there is no diesel, every aspect of the economy gets affected drastically,” the association said.
Even so, Karakacha revealed the transport stakeholders would release a statement on Monday at 5 pm to give the nation the way forward on whether the strike would persist.
This meeting will precede an anticipated joint treasury meeting that the Ministry of Treasury, Energy and Petroleum, and all relevant energy agencies will hold at around 4 pm today to discuss the way forward.
Treasury CS John Mbadi revealed in an interview on a local TV station on Monday that the government would hold talks with the Matatu industry players to discuss measures to cushion Kenyans from the soaring fuel prices.
“We will have a conversation with players in the Matatu sector, to discuss and let them understand where we are, and what the government has done, and what the government is still doing,” Mbadi said.