Economy

Matatu owners count Sh700 mn revenue loss since polls

matatu

Matatu Welfare Association national chairman Dickson Mbugua (centre) with vice chair John Katimbwa (left) and national treasurer Lucy Wacuka (right) as they called for an end to the political impasse and return to normalcy on August 14, 2017. PHOTO | DIANA NGILA | NMG

Matatu owners say they have lost income running into hundreds of millions after the elections conducted last week due to slow business as Kenyans feared venturing out of their homes.

Speaking to journalists in Nairobi on Monday, the Matatu Welfare Association says the public transport sector has lost about Sh700 million since Wednesday last week.

They called for peace across the country, saying that no Kenyan should die or property be destroyed due to the current political impasse.

Incumbent Uhuru Kenyatta was named the winner in the just concluded General Election on Friday evening, a result the main opposition leader Raila Odinga is disputing.

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Property destroyed

Spates of violence have been reported around the country since IEBC's announcement, with PSV owners saying one matatu was burnt down in Kisumu.

"Stakeholders should discuss the standoff with a view of solving it...We urge members of our association to resume work. Elections are not a matter of life and death," the lobby's national chairman Dickson Mbugua said today.

"Protests and demos are rights protected in the Constitution but that right has a limit. This right does not translate to destroying others' properties," he said, adding that security agencies should be careful with how they handle demonstrators to avoid extra judicial killings.

They also urged acting Internal Security Secretary Fred Matiang'i to beef up security in order to allows citizens to conduct business.

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Who will police the rogue matatu crew and officers?