President William Ruto ordered an immediate look again at the Insurance Act and the existing auctioneer rules in a fast and decisive step aimed at cushioning the transport sector from predatory finance practices. This came after strong lobbying by matatu operators, who have said for a long time that rigid insurance requirements and harsh auctioneering tactics have been pushing their businesses toward total collapse.
The President’s directive is also part of a wider government push to stabilize the public transport industry, which has been under heavy strain from rising fuel costs and from operational levies that feel like they keep tightening by the day.
During high-level consultative talks held this week, transport stakeholders laid out their concerns to the head of state, including claims that current insurance and auctioneer laws are being used like tools to seize vehicles and then pile on exorbitant costs on operators who are already struggling.
“The industry is signaling distress, and it is the government’s duty to listen,” President Ruto said during the briefing. He added that the state has to make sure regulatory structures work to safeguard investments, not to enable the steady dispossession of business owners in a kind of systematic way.
Under the new review, the National Treasury and the Office of the Attorney General are expected to suggest amendments that will introduce more flexible insurance premium frameworks and also strengthen supervision of how auctioneers behave.
Operators have specifically accused insurance companies of arbitrary policy cancellations and discriminatory pricing. At the same time, auctioneers have been criticized for skipping due process when carrying out vehicle repossessions.
Beyond the regulatory review, the president also put out a big directive to the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), essentially telling them to end the prohibition on artistic graffiti on matatus. “The industry is telling me they have been told they must remove graffiti from their vehicles, and I am asking myself why,” the president remarked, almost like he was underlining a pivot toward supporting the creative economy inside the transport sector.
This new intervention is being viewed as a strategic olive branch from government, aimed at keeping things steady for the long run after a week of nationwide strikes. In particular, by taking on the “hidden costs” of doing business, meaning those predatory insurance arrangements and the auctioneer loops, the administration is hoping to reduce the financial load on transport owners, without leaning only on fuel subsidies.
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