The Motorists Association of Kenya has come out furious after a section of transport industry leaders secretly negotiated with government officials to call off the nationwide transport strike, leaving the rest of the coalition completely in the dark.

In a statement released on Wednesday, May 20, 2026, MAK said the secret meetings were held without the knowledge or consent of alliance partners who had spent days pulling together one of the most united transport sector protests Kenya has seen in recent memory.

“The Motorist Association of Kenya, together with all transport stakeholders who were sidelined in the recent negotiations, strongly condemn the dishonest and underhanded actions of a few industry players who secretly called off the transport sector strike without the knowledge or consent of their partners,” the statement read.

The strike had brought together an unusually broad coalition including truck owners, trailer operators, taxi and cab associations, bus companies, tour drivers, digital boda boda riders, cargo transporters, pickup owners, private motorists, and ordinary Kenyans.

All were united by a cumulative fuel price increase of up to Ksh 76 per litre that has been driving up transport fares and food prices across the country.

What the secret negotiators came back with was a Ksh 10 reduction on diesel alone, announced by EPRA on May 18.

MAK and other sidelined stakeholders have described the outcome as a surrender, not a victory.

According to the statement, the individuals who broke ranks held covert meetings on May 19 with Energy CS Opiyo Wandayi, Roads and Transport CS Davis Chirchir, Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen, and Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja, in direct violation of the alliance’s agreed rules of engagement.

“Unfortunately, as has happened before, a few familiar actors met privately with government officials, including Cabinet Secretaries and the Governor of Nairobi, without informing others. These meetings were conducted in direct violation of the agreed rules of engagement. The understanding was clear: government representatives were to come before the full alliance, and no single subsector was authorised to negotiate alone,” the statement said.

MAK also pointed out that no binding document was signed by those who negotiated the deal, casting serious doubt on how long the arrangement will hold.

The strike has been postponed by a week, with the next round of negotiations still to come.

The association also took a swipe at the media for focusing its coverage on a handful of individuals while the broader coalition’s grievances were quietly pushed aside, and accused the government of knowing exactly which actors repeatedly mobilise the public only to abandon them once their personal interests are met, calling it a cycle that has gone on for far too long.

MAK noted that nearly identical betrayals happened in 2018 and 2024, suggesting that for some players, the pattern of showing up for negotiations and cutting separate deals is nothing new.