Get to know the Kisii Tycoons Ruling the East African Bus Industry. Since most Kenyans rely on public transportation to go around on a daily basis, the country’s transportation sector has grown steadily over time. Consequently, numerous public service vehicle (PSV) enterprises have surfaced and solidified their position as frontrunners within the sector. There are a few dominant companies associated with each route.
We will look at a few of the Kisii Tycoons who own bus businesses in this article.
Transline Classic, formerly known as Transline, was founded by Evans Nyang’au. After purchasing two Nissan cars in 2006 and naming them “Fagilia Kibati” and “Fagilia Prezzo,” he founded the business. During this period, the matatus traveled the Kisii-Sotik-Nakuru route.
But after a few months of operation, Nyang’au received the idea from an in-law who had started “Oxygen Shuttle,” the first Nissan shuttle to travel the Kisii-Nairobi route at the time, to convert his matatus into shuttles that would travel the route.
Nyang’au changed the name of his matatus to Transline and enlisted the help of associates to expand the business. But as the firm expanded, the original partners split up, and Nyang’au renamed his enterprise Transline Classic in collaboration with a well-known Keroka businessman who goes by the nickname “Toyota.” Harun Kamau and Evans Anyona Nyagaka were the others.
The owner of Overseas Bus Company and a former shareholder of Transline is Haron Kamau. The businessman from Kisii split off from Transline Classic with his buses, bought a couple more, and changed the name to Overseas. The routes that the buses travel are Nairobi-Kisii-Migori-Sirare-Kisumu. In addition, Kamau owns the opulent Kamel Park hotel in Kisii.
Evans Nyagaka Anyona One of the original members of Transline Classic was Anyona, a director of Ena at Ena Investments Ltd., the company that owns Ena Coach. In 2018, Anyona launched her own business, Ena Coach.
When the nation experienced a severe drought in 1992, it was his big break in life. Aware that the drought would be followed by food shortages, the young guy bought maize at Ksh7 per tin, and, true to his prediction, the resulting scarcity of the product drove the prices to surge to Ksh35. With the revenues, Anyona launched a shop, which transformed into a wholesale outlet.
His uncle persuaded him to purchase his first truck, which he later modified to become the well-known “seven-aside” matatus. As his company expanded, he purchased three more seven-aside vehicles before deciding to switch to contemporary Nissan and Toyota Matatus.
The Guardian Angel buses that travel the routes in Western Kenya are owned by the Ong’era Moturi Family. In addition to operating buses and 11- and 14-seater vans, the company also provides package delivery services.
The business has expanded to compete with Transline Classic and Ena Coach on the Nairobi-Kisii-Kisumu routes since its founding. Additionally, Kitale, Kakamega, Eldoret, and Nakuru are home to Guardian offices. After Moturi’s death in 2019, his family inherited his multimillion-dollar transportation enterprise.
The Otange Bus Company, which was established in the late 1990s and was one of the top bus firms operating on the Sirare-Migori-Kisii-Nairobi routes for more than 20 years, is owned by Julius Otange.
Otange also owns a gasoline station, residences, and various other assets in Keroka Town. Additionally, he has a number of properties in Kisii and Nairobi.
