How 'squad drivers' risk lives of Kenyan passengers daily for Sh100

Pedestrians at the scene where a Rongai matatu lost control on the Langata Road roundabout. Four passengers lost their lives in the incident and four suffered serious injuries. [PHOTO: DAVID GICHURU/STANDARD]

It is 8pm at Nairobi’s Luthuli Avenue matatu stage on a Saturday evening.

A 14-seater matatu is about to leave for Eastlands.

The driver, dressed in a faded brown T-shirt, jumps behind the wheel, chewing miraa.

A strong stench of alcohol fills the tiny, poorly ventilated vehicle but the passengers pretend not to care.

They only throw sideways glances at each other but no one speaks. Even in the darkness, the driver’s blood-shot eyes are clearly visible.

“Mwema, hiyo round next ni yangu (Mwema, the next round is mine),” shouts his colleague as he hands him a bottle of soft drink which, in all probability, is not a soft drink.

“As long as you return the keys to the owner of the car before 10pm,” agrees Mwema in staccato as he weaves his way through traffic.

Mwema is a ‘squad driver’, and so is his colleague. Yes, he is licensed as a public service driver but he does not have a designated vehicle.

Every day he risks the lives of hundreds of Kenyans, who are unaware of his incompetence, in his search for Sh200 or Sh300, if he is lucky.

He wakes up daily and hangs around the stage at City Centre with crossed fingers, hoping that someone will shout his name, informing him that the main driver of a particular matatu has not shown up for some undisclosed reason.

And that way, a 35-seater will make Sh100 more.

Of course with his speed and his incompetence, he is prone to accidents. But as usual, he will be the only one who survives with all four limbs intact before he vanishes into  thin air probably to resurface in another bus park to perform similar antics.

Mwema is just one of the hundreds of squad drivers in the city. One of their own was behind an accident that happened a week ago along Lan’gata road that killed five people and injured dozens others. He vanished immediately after the accident.

Speeding was part of the explanation given by Nairobi Traffic Commandant Leonard Katana. What he did not say was that the Ongata Line Sacco bus was being driven by the ‘intern’ driver.

SACCO DEREGISTERED

National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) said the Ongata Line Sacco matatu had flouted licensing regulations in its crew and vehicles.

“Following several violations of the NTSA (Public Service Regulations) 2014 by Ongata Line Company Ltd and consequent meetings with the company regarding the same, the authority has hereby de-registered the company as a Public Service Operator,” read a statement from the authority.
A squad driver is one who is not officially employed. He occasionally relieves the main driver when he is held up. He could be a registered operator or not.

A majority are not.

A spot check by The Standard revealed some of their responsibilities include taking vehicles for service or just revving its engine to attract passengers.

They also are responsible for the vehicle during off-peak hours, especially around midday, holidays and weekends - when there are less traffic patrols hence less chances of being apprehended.

“No main driver will operate during the weekends or sit in the matatu as it lines up on the stage until it is full. That is the work of a squad driver who is usually paid some Sh30 for the services,” says one of the drivers who only identified himself as Stanley.

Most squad drivers are said to prefer new matatus. They usually attract more passengers and hence more money.

“Squad drivers usually start off the day if the driver is too tired to wake up at 5am; that is if he clocked out at 10pm the previous night. Most  drivers start out as squad drivers and when the owner of the matatu falls out with one driver, they take over officially,” says Stanley.

But another driver, Haman Murutu from Embassava Sacco, says as much as squad drivers are helping hands, they are the laziest of individuals.

“They cannot get a certificate of good conduct or apply for a Public Service license yet it costs only Sh1,050. All they do is sit like vultures preying on an empty vehicle without a driver. I have never liked them.”

But Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) Chairman Dickson Mbugua says the only way to get rid of squad drivers is to employ them.

“There is no way a designated driver can operate a car for seven days on end. That is why we encourage vehicle owners to employ these squad drivers to be put on standby. The bigger the fleet the bigger the number of standby drivers; at least five,” says Mbugua.

Mbugua says it is not surprising that when ‘squad drivers’ cause an accident, they usually disappear.

“First they do not have the correct papers and even if they surrender, they have no employer to defend them. They cannot be blamed,” said Mbugua.

Putting them on standby, he says, means they will be entitled to some sort of salary package.