{"id":141492,"date":"2026-05-19T10:02:56","date_gmt":"2026-05-19T10:02:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/with-all-due-respect-theres-no-deal-matatu-official-publicly-contradicts-govt-as-fuel-strike-continues\/"},"modified":"2026-05-19T10:02:56","modified_gmt":"2026-05-19T10:02:56","slug":"with-all-due-respect-theres-no-deal-matatu-official-publicly-contradicts-govt-as-fuel-strike-continues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/with-all-due-respect-theres-no-deal-matatu-official-publicly-contradicts-govt-as-fuel-strike-continues\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cWith All Due Respect, There\u2019s No Deal\u201d: Matatu Official Publicly Contradicts Govt as Fuel Strike Continues"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19 \u2014 What was meant to be a carefully choreographed government announcement on the fuel crisis descended into an awkward public fallout Monday night after a matatu sector representative bluntly contradicted Cabinet Secretaries Opiyo Wandayi and Davis Chirchir live on camera, declaring: \u201cWith all due respect\u2026 there\u2019s no deal.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

The dramatic moment unfolded at Transcom House in Nairobi following hours of closed-door talks between government officials and transport stakeholders over soaring fuel prices that triggered a nationwide matatu strike.<\/p>\n

Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi had stepped before cameras alongside Transport CS Davis Chirchir appearing confident that progress had been made.<\/p>\n

Wandayi said the discussions had centred on concerns over fuel adulteration caused by the widening gap between diesel and kerosene prices.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne of these issues was the matter of possible adulteration of diesel due to the huge disparity in the prices of diesel and kerosene,\u201d Wandayi said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have come to the understanding that for prudence purposes and to eliminate the risk of fuel adulteration on account of this huge disparity and to save the motor vehicles operating using diesel from possible malfunction, we are going to bridge the gap between the prices of diesel and petrol.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat would mean that the price of kerosene would have to go higher as that of diesel comes lower to bridge that gap,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

But before the ministers could exit the briefing, officials from the Matatu Owners Association abruptly interjected, rejecting any suggestion that an agreement had been reached.<\/p>\n

In a moment that has since gone viral online, Kennedy Kaunda, Group CEO of the Tourist Guide Association, calmly but firmly challenged the government\u2019s version of events.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have not agreed to anything,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey gave us 30, according to what they are going to discuss with EPRA, and we had stated 35 up to 30, that was the communication.\u201d<\/p>\n

Then came the line that instantly captured the mood online:<\/p>\n

\u201cWith all due respect, we respect everyone here; we did not come to set anybody up. We are law-abiding citizens. So there\u2019s no deal. The strike is still on!\u201d<\/p>\n

As Kaunda spoke, the two Cabinet Secretaries stood silently beside him, staring blankly at the cameras in what quickly became one of the most talked-about political moments of the night.<\/p>\n

Observers online described the exchange as rare public defiance directed at senior government officials during a live state briefing.<\/p>\n

The confrontation effectively collapsed the government\u2019s attempt to project consensus and confirmed that the nationwide strike that paralysed public transport on Monday would continue into Tuesday.<\/p>\n

Transport stakeholders later clarified that while they supported efforts to address fuel adulteration by narrowing the diesel-kerosene price gap, they had rejected the government\u2019s proposed Sh10 reduction in diesel prices as inadequate.<\/p>\n

Operators are demanding a deeper reduction of between Sh30 and Sh35 per litre.<\/p>\n

The standoff has already disrupted transport services across the country, stranded thousands of commuters and affected businesses and learning in several areas.<\/p>\n

Online, many Kenyans rallied behind the matatu representative, praising what they described as honesty, courage and a willingness to confront government officials directly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the best use of \u2018with all due respect,\u2019\u201d one X user wrote.<\/p>\n

Another said the official had \u201cstood with millions of Kenyans\u201d by refusing to endorse what many viewed as an insufficient intervention on fuel prices.<\/p>\n

Others described the moment as symbolic of growing public frustration over the rising cost of living and economic pressures facing ordinary Kenyans.<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the Matatu Owners Association has directed operators to keep vehicles off the roads for a second consecutive day as negotiations continue.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, May 19 \u2014 What was meant to be a carefully choreographed government announcement on the fuel crisis descended into an awkward public fallout Monday night after a matatu sector representative bluntly contradicted Cabinet Secretaries Opiyo Wandayi and Davis Chirchir live on camera, declaring: \u201cWith all due respect\u2026 there\u2019s no deal.\u201d The dramatic moment […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-141492","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141492","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=141492"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/141492\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=141492"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=141492"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=141492"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}