Motorists from Nyamira County have accused county askaris on the methodology used in collection of taxes along the major highways in the region.
Speaking on Monday at a Nyamira hotel, Nyamira Motorists Association chairman Peter Otachi said the industry was on the verge of collapsing given the alleged orthodox means used by the tax collectors, sometimes using violence.
He said the collectors were acting with a lot of impunity and seemed to collude with the police since most cases were dismissed by the police despite a major outcry from the matatu operators.
“We want to express our dissatisfaction in the manner which these askaris are collecting tax along our highways. The exercise is marred with impunity since they even turn violent to our members,” he said.
“As an industry, we are really worried since some of our members have left the sector due to intimidation from those people. Besides being aggressive, they have always used threats and obscene language,” he added.
Nyamira chief security officer William Ogeto, however, dismissed the allegations as ‘baseless, null and hyperbolic’ saying none of such allegations have been brought to his office.
“I am mesmerised with those serious allegations. It is disappointing that these people can complain yet they have never brought their case before me. These are just baseless and hyperbolic allegations meant to taint our image,” he said.