These two footbridges were the face of Sonko’s matatu ban
Confusion and chaos reined on Monday as commuters were forced to walk to the city centre after Governor Mike Sonko’s ban on matatus from picking up and dropping off passengers in the CBD took effect.
In the chaos, two footbridges became the face of the ban as desperate commuters congested in their narrow aisles in a bid to access the CBD.
The Ngara footbridge and the Railways footbridge hosted more people than they were intended to, posing a serious risk to users.
https://twitter.com/Laban_Dedan254/status/1069504116618133504
Kenya Railways were forced to issue a warning after the congestion at their crossing saw it chocking with desperate people trying to cross it.
#MatatuCBDBan
This is so unfair. We set policies without a plan. This is the situation at the railway bridge going into town pic.twitter.com/EKuVgCcBIi— Benson Samia (@SamiaBen05) December 3, 2018
“Kenya Railways would like to urge members of the public using the Railway foot bridge connecting CBD and Landi Mawe to do so in an orderly manner for their own safety and that of other users. The Railway Police have been deployed at the foot bridge to manage the heavy human traffic in order to avoid overloading of the bridge which can only support a maximum of 5 people per square metre,” read the statement.
On Tuesday morning, Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko temporarily suspended the ban to allow for more consultation.
The about-turn, he said, was informed by the suffering of commuters, matatu operators, employers and business owners that was witnessed on Monday.