Mr David Kiarie, the brain behind Omata speed governors. His firm, Dalcom Enterprises, has already sold about 5,000 digital speed limiters and hopes to sell about 20,000 devices as the new traffic laws come into force. The devices cost between Sh30,000 and Sh35,000 each. Photo Frankline Akhubula
Enterprising city businessmen have made a fortune from the new matatu laws.
The money poured in for them even as thousands of Nairobi residents were stranded after public transport was paralysed.
The tycoons played on the fact that the new rules meant there would be a huge demand for digital speed governors — so they imported huge consignments of them ahead of the Tuesday deadline.
Normally priced at around Sh20,000 each, they were selling to last-minute buyers for up to Sh40,000 each. One businessman sold 5,000 speed governors by Monday evening and raked in around Sh175million in just under 24 hours.
The businessman is David Kiarie, director of Dalcom Kenya, on Kwale Road in Ngara, who sells Omata governors.
And he revealed: “I still have 2,000 speed governors in my stores which I hope to sell in the coming days. I am also expecting another consignment in due course.”
