Makau Mutua proposes scrapping flashy matatus to restore road sanity
By Nancy Marende, July 22, 2025Senior Advisor on Constitutional Affairs in the Executive Office of the President, Makau Mutua, has called for a radical overhaul of Kenya’s chaotic urban transport system, proposing a return to structured, reliable public transit and the scrapping of flashy, unregulated matatus that dominate city roads.
In a statement on Tuesday, July 22, 2025, Mutua lamented the state of disorder, lawlessness, and aesthetic confusion in Kenya’s major towns and cities.
He proposed the introduction of public service vehicles with distinct colours and only licensing limited operators.
“Let’s return road sanity to Kenya’s major cities/towns by introducing reliable, clean, and timely buses (ala KBS), licensing a limited number of matatus who must have the same model minibuses with the same colour (no strange camouflage and weird lights), and banning boda boda. No pain, no gain!” tread the statement in part.
His proposal comes amid lingering debate on matatu culture in the country.
The boda boda ban
Makau Mutua’s latest proposal comes after he rattled a section of operators by calling for a complete ban on boda bodas in Kenya’s major cities and towns, saying the motorcycle taxis contribute to urban chaos, lawlessness, and poor road discipline.
In a statement on Thursday, July 17, 2025, Makau said he was convinced that boda bodas should not be allowed to operate in urban centres.
He argued that no modern city should tolerate what he described as disorder, illegality, indiscipline, and poor aesthetics brought about by the sector.
“I am convinced that all boda boda should be banned from the streets of all of Kenya’s major cities and towns. No modern city should tolerate such chaos, illegality, terrible aesthetics, and indiscipline on its roads. Absolutely unacceptable,” Mutua said.
The remarks drew a sharp response from the Boda Boda Association of Kenya (BAK), which accused Mutua of undermining a vital economic sector that supports millions of Kenyans.
“We strongly condemn the recent statement by Makau Mutua on his social media platforms calling for the banning of all boda bodas from Kenya’s cities and towns,” BAK said in a statement on Friday, July 18, 2025.
“Such remarks are not only reckless but deeply inconsiderate coming from a leader associated with a government that champions the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), a model that places the common mwananchi at the centre of economic growth,” the statement read.
The association emphasised the economic role of the boda boda sector, noting that it supports over 2 million families nationwide.