Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has strongly condemned Nairobi governor Johnson Sakaja over his plans to evict Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) from the Nairobi Central Business District (CBD).
The gutsy Gachagua accused Sakaja of rushing to make decisions affecting businesses in the county without consultations with other stakeholders.
He was particularly addressing a move by governor Sakaja to relocate long-distance matatus from the Nairobi CBD to the newly constructed Greepark Bus Terminus.
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“For all the decisions he is taking and which can negatively affect businesses in Nairobi, we must first engage and agree. We do not want a lot of speed. We need to slow down,” said the seemingly vexed DP.
“The decision of evicting Matatus is impossible. I don’t want us to start being stubborn to businesspeople,”
However, the DP said he has summoned Sakaja for talks to amicably settle the matter without inconveniencing matatu operators.
Gachagua slammed the first-time governor for not recognizing the efforts he put towards having him elected, saying he singlehandedly implored Kikuyus to vote for him.
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“I have told the governor of Nairobi that we will sit down with him because it’s we who elected him. I sat down with Kikuyus in Nairobi and told them to elect him and I have called him to have a talk with him,” said Gachagua.
In what seemed like comparing Sakaja’s actions to those of Susan Kihika, Gachagua said Nakuru Governor Susan Kihika had demonstrated commitment to protecting the will of matatu operators by securing their return to the city’s CBD after eviction by former Governor Lee Kinyanjui.
The chest-thumping Gachagua said he convinced voters to kick Kinyanjui out so that they could repossess their position in the city.
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“Our people had been sent away by the Azimio person called Kinyanjui. He took them to the bushes and I asked the people to send the governor to the bush so that they can return to town,” he said in reference to Kinyanjui’s defeat to Kihika.
Sakaja had ordered long-distance matatus to pick up and drop passengers at the GreenPark Terminus, saying the move was meant to restore order in the CBD.
However, the court halted Sakaja’s decision and put the governor and the petitioners on the table to discuss and resolve the matter, which culminated in the governor allowing the drivers to pick up passengers from the CBD but only drop them off at Greenpark.
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