East Africa Tour Guides and Drivers Association CEO Kennedy Kaunda has shed more light on the chaotic government meeting over rising fuel prices, saying he arrived late and found officials already concluding discussions on a proposed deal to lower diesel prices.
Speaking during an interview , Kaunda explained that he was part of both meetings between transport stakeholders and government officials but missed a key section of the second session after being called in unexpectedly.
“I was at the first and second meeting. The second meeting, nilikuja kama nimechelewa. They actually called me to take a motorbike ride from where I was. By the time I arrived, they were making the final remarks. I missed,” Kaunda said.
He said he had initially been unaware that the meeting was taking place.
“I was in my office. I didn’t know there was a meeting. There’s a coordinator who called me and told me to come in a hurry,” he added.
Kaunda also denied claims circulating online that he had received money to support the government’s position after the meeting.
The accusations emerged after some Kenyans questioned why he appeared calm during the later talks despite earlier confronting ministers publicly during a tense press briefing.
“So many motorists have stopped me and asked where the brown envelope is. On social media, it’s the same. I was not given anything. What touched me on Tuesday was the discussion that they had already concluded,” he noted.
“There are matatu owners in that meeting who accepted the deal and I saw the seven days as goodwill to extend the negotiations and commit to a reduction of Ksh.10,”he added.
During the same interview, Federation of Public Transport Sector CEO Kushian Muchiri criticised Transport CS Davis Chirchir, accusing him of failing to maintain communication with transport stakeholders.
“One of the things we tried to do is to reach out to the government to get an explanation of the fuel price hike, which did not bear fruit,” Muchiri said.
“This is the first time in all the years I’ve been CEO of the Federation and since I joined in 2018 that we’ve had a Transport Minister who doesn’t meet the Transport Stakeholders,”he added.
Muchiri said previous transport ministers regularly engaged industry players, adding that better communication could have prevented the current standoff.
“If we had a minister who was in constant engagement with the stakeholders, we would not be here,” he added.
He further claimed that digital strategist Dennis Itumbi played a role in pushing for the talks between the government and transport operators to take place.
On the government’s side, Energy and Petroleum Regulatory Authority (EPRA) Director for Petroleum and Gas Edward Kinyua defended the negotiations, saying several ministries had been involved in addressing the fuel crisis.
“On Monday, the chair of that meeting was CS Chirchir. We actually had 3 CSs in that meeting, Chirchir, Wandayi and CS Mbadi,” Kinyua stated.
“I think the government has shown goodwill because this crisis came abruptly in the last two months and nobody would have prevented the prices from going to where they are,” he added.
The remarks come days after dramatic scenes at Transcom House, where talks between government officials and transport sector representatives failed to stop a planned nationwide strike over fuel prices.
During the meeting, government officials proposed reducing diesel prices by Ksh.10, arguing the move would help reduce the price gap between diesel and kerosene and lower the risk of fuel adulteration.
However, moments after Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi addressed the press, Kaunda publicly rejected claims that a deal had been reached.
“We have not agreed to anything. They 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,” Kaunda declared during the tense press briefing.So there’s no deal. The strike is still on!,”he noted.
His remarks contradicted the government’s earlier communication that progress had been made in the negotiations, creating an awkward moment during the live media address.
