Mosiria calls out towing operators over excessive charges to distressed motorists
By Nancy Marende, February 9, 2026Nairobi County Chief Officer for Citizen Engagement and Customer Service, Geoffrey Mosiria, has raised concerns about the growing exploitation of distressed motorists by some breakdown and towing operators.
This follows an incident he witnessed while heading to Nairobi’s Central Business District.
In a statement on Monday, February 9, 2026, Mosiria revealed that he witnessed a heated altercation between a private car driver and a breakdown recovery crew at a roundabout, where the vehicle had stalled and was obstructing traffic.
“Today, while heading to the CBD, I came across a breakdown recovery crew and a private car driver in a heated altercation that didn’t look good. I decided to stop and understand what was happening,” he stated.
According to Mosiria, the driver explained that the recovery crew had initially offered to help push and pull the vehicle off the road to ease traffic.
However, after assisting for a short distance, the crew allegedly demanded Ksh5,000 for the service, triggering a confrontation.
After listening to both sides, Mosiria noted that the amount demanded was excessive, given the limited assistance provided, and that it appeared to take advantage of the driver’s vulnerable situation.
“After listening to both sides, I informed the crew that, based on the short distance covered, the amount they were demanding was clearly exaggerated and appeared exploitative,” he revealed.
Following discussions, the parties agreed on a more reasonable arrangement, under which the motorist agreed to compensate the crew fairly for their assistance.
Mosiria warned that such incidents have become increasingly common, with complaints mounting that some breakdown and towing operators prey on motorists at their most distressed.
He called for greater professionalism, fairness, and accountability within the sector, stressing the need to protect residents from exploitative practices while ensuring that genuine service providers are not unfairly tarnished.
“We must protect residents from such unfair practices and encourage professionalism and fairness in service delivery.”