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High Court orders NTSA to release pimped matatus owned by President Ruto’s son
Justice Mwamuye ordered lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui to serve the order on NTSA by close of business tomorrow

The High Court has directed National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to release pimped matatus impounded during a crackdown on unroadworthy vehicles, including those owned by President William Ruto’s son, George.
Justice Bahati Mwamuye ordered NTSA, its director general and the Inspector General of Police to release the impounded motor vehicles and return their number plates.
Justice Mwamuye ordered lawyers Danstan Omari and Shadrack Wambui to serve the order on NTSA by close of business tomorrow, February 4, 2025.
He further directed the case filed by the chairman of MCA Sacco and the Secretary General of Public Mobility Operators Association Wilfred Bosire has incurred a huge loss since the matatus were impounded two months ago.
Urging the court to order thepolice and NTSA to release the vehicles Omari said that the owner is losing Ksh 20,000 per day for each of the matatus.
“I urge this court to consider the plight of the operators, employees and consumers of these public service vehicles and order NTSA and the IG to release the impounded vehicles forthwith,” Omari told the judge.
The judge further heard that the action by NTSA has exposed the operators to legal action by the banks which has financed the purchase of pimped matatus, popularly known as nganyas.
The judge was also told that the matatu industry has offered employment to thousands of youths, content creators, electronic entrepreneurs and the food industry,
“These nganyas are also a tourist attraction as they are boarded by visitors to the country from the city centre to towns in the outskirts of the city centre,” Omari observed.
The judge was told that the action by NTSA and the police amount to an illegality as there is no law that permit the removal of registration number plates from a public service vehicle.
In the petition filed in court, the claimants have said the affected routes are Embakasi, Kiambu Road, Ongata Rongai and Thika Road.
“The operations in these routes have affected commuters and has caused untold financial suffering to the matatu owners and operators,” the judge heard.
The crackdown carried out by police and NTSA officers have subjected the petitioners to excessive inordinate, unwarranted and unjustified actions which ended up in grounding these vehicles which cost Ksh 30 million.
Omari told the court that over 28,000 matatus operate in Nairobi thereby contributing a huge amount to the economy.
“The actions by NTSA and police has denied the government revenue,” he stated.
The lawyer urged the judge to invoke the court’s jurisdiction to return the vehicles in to business which offers employment to all ages without discrimination.
In his brief ruling, Justice Mwamuye ordered: “The petitioner has established a case that they are incurring immense financial and material losses as they cannot operate given that their vehicles have no number plates thereby being rendered unroadworthy.”