This archive report was first published on 21 September 2021.
Double M buses, a familiar sight on Nairobi's roads, are facing an uncertain future as the company that operates them is set to be sold at an auction due to unpaid debts.
Philips International Auctioneers has advertised the auction of Express Connections' property, including a 1.767-acre land along Jogoo Road, to recover a bank loan of an undisclosed amount.
At its peak in 2010, the Double M fleet, which plied the CBD-Buru Buru route, consisted of 150 buses. The company was founded by the late John Mugo Mwangi, who passed away in December 2011, leaving his wife, Mary Wangari-Mwangi, to manage the business.
According to reports, the company's decline began after Mugo's death. Wangari was also embroiled in a dispute with Easy Properties, which she accused of building a substandard hotel despite receiving Sh. 168 million in borrowed funds.
Easy Properties allegedly received Sh. 120 million from a bank on January 17, 2014, which may be part of the unpaid loans that led to the auction. Wangari had claimed Sh. 268,092,357 from the contractor in arbitration documents filed in May 2016, citing numerous faults in the hotel's construction.
