Motorists Association Condemns Secret Talks, Blasts Other Stakeholders
The Motorists Association of Kenya (MAK) has accused anonymous sector leaders of secretly talking with government officials to end a national transportation strike.
This decision caught the rest of the alliance off guard and infuriated them.
In a statement published on X on May 20, the organization, along with other marginalized groups, claims that the secret meetings were held without the knowledge or agreement of alliance partners who had spent days organizing the protest.
“The Motorist Association of Kenya (MAK), together with all transport stakeholders who were sidelined in the recent negotiations, wishes to strongly condemn the dishonest and underhanded actions of a few industry players who secretly called off the planned transport sector strike without the knowledge or consent of their partners,” stated MAK.
(MAK), Together with all transport stakeholders who were sidelined in the recent negotiations, strongly condemn the dishonest and underhanded actions of a few industry players who secretly called off the transport sector strike without the knowledge or consent of their partners.
— Motorist Association (@motoristsoffice) May 20, 2026
The planned walkout brought together groups of truck owners, trailer operators, taxi and cab associations, bus businesses, tour drivers, digital boda boda riders, cargo transporters, pickup owners, private motorists, and ordinary Kenyans.
The trigger for the planned strike was a cumulative fuel increase of up to Ksh76 per litre, covering diesel, petrol, and kerosene, costs that have driven up transport fares and food prices.
After the secret talks, the group that broke ranks returned with a Ksh10 reduction on diesel alone, which the Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) had set on May 18.
This deal, however, had been rejected by MAK and other stakeholders who flatly described it as a “surrender, not a victory.”
BETRAYAL OF THE TRANSPORT SECTOR STRIKE pic.twitter.com/bOo9eJMCdx
— Motorist Association (@motoristsoffice) May 20, 2026
According to the statement, some individuals held covert meetings with the Energy and Petroleum Cabinet Secretary Opiyo Wandayi, Roads and Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, and Nairobi Governor Johnsohn Sakaja on May 19.
This is in direct violation of the alliance’s rules, which required government officials to face the full coalition.
“Unfortunately, as has happened before, a few familiar actors went behind the backs of everyone else and held covert meetings with government officials, including Cabinet Secretaries and the Governor of Nairobi,” stated the statement in part.
The alliance has one fundamental rule, as per the notice, that no single subsector is authorised to negotiate alone.
MAK points to a disturbing pattern, noting nearly identical betrayals in 2018 and 2024.
Sidelined Transport stakeholders in the recent negotiations wish to strongly condemn the dishonest and underhand actions of a few industry players who secretly called off the transport sector strike without the knowledge or consent of their partners. #RejectFuelPrices
— Motorist Association (@motoristsoffice) May 20, 2026
Some members went out of their way to negotiate with government stakeholders in parallel meetings, which in the long run bore no meaningful results.
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MAK also slammed the media for framing the protest as being organised by a single sector.
They affirmed that some individuals were given more of a spotlight, while the broader coalition’s grievances were quietly sidelined and forgotten.
The sidelined stakeholders have categorically rejected the deal, further noting that those who negotiated it did not sign any binding document.
This casts doubt on the longevity of the deal signed on May 20, after postponing the strike by a week.
The statement also notes that the government knows exactly which actors repeatedly mobilise the public, only to abandon them once personal interests are met.
The association called it a cycle that has gone on too long, even as the next round of negotiations is to take place soon.
Motorists Association Condemns Secret Talks, Blasts Other Stakeholders
