Matatus at a bus station in Nairobi (PHOTO/nation.co.ke)
Matatu owners have called for normalcy after elections, saying they have lost over Sh700 million in the last week because of election-related fears.
According to Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) national Chairman Dickson Mbugua, matatu owners are now counting massive losses as many stakeholders withdrew their buses from the roads fearing for safety after NASA's Raila Odinga lost to Jubilee’s Uhuru Kenyatta in the polls.
“...insurance policies are wasting away with some due for renewal. Our members risk defaulting on payment of loans running into billions of shillings and this could see their vehicles as well as other properties seized by auctioneers,” he said.
He was speaking in Nairobi where he was with his national committee.
Mbugua added that jobs are also in jeopardy as Kenyans rely on the matatu business to earn a living.
“We cannot afford any further loss and we call upon President Uhuru and the NASA leader to show leadership by calling on their supporters to embrace peace,” he said.
“Peace is the foundation of economic prosperity and every patriotic Kenyan must keep it by all means.”