Thousands of Kenyans were forced to walk to work as a nationwide matatu strike entered its second day following the collapse of talks over soaring diesel prices and transport costs.

📻 Breaking It Down

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 20 — Thousands of Kenyans trekked long distances to work for a second consecutive day on Tuesday as a nationwide public transport paralysis triggered by soaring fuel prices continued to cripple movement across major towns.

From Nairobi’s Central Business District to Nakuru, Kisumu, Eldoret, and Mombasa, stranded commuters were forced to walk for kilometres after matatu operators kept vehicles off the roads following the collapse of talks with the government over diesel prices.

Roads that are usually packed with morning traffic instead filled with streams of pedestrians carrying backpacks, handbags, and shopping bags as workers, students, and traders struggled to reach their destinations.

📌 What You Need to Know

“We hoped for a solution yesterday but under the circumtances and with no clear roadmap on what happens next, we have to do what we can,” Aggrey, a worker at a car delearship in Ruaka told Capital News.

A spotcheck showed streams of workers and pupils alike walking as boda boda, most of which switched off ride-hailing apps on Monday, charge a premium.

The transport crisis deepened after Monday night’s negotiations between government officials and public service vehicle operators ended without an agreement, despite Energy Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi publicly suggesting progress had been made.

“We have come to an understanding that for prudence purposes… we are going to bridge the gap between the prices of diesel and kerosene,” Wandayi said after the talks at Transcom House in Nairobi.

But matatu operators immediately rejected the government’s position, insisting no deal had been reached on diesel prices.

“With all due respect… we did not agree on anything,” one operators’ representative told reporters after the meeting.

📰 Source: Capital FM Kenya