Lawless matatu sector at mercy of poor management

By Correspondent

With poor management, lawlessness and total disregard to traffic rules, the matatu industry has become a haven for hijackers, terrorists and muggers and pickpockets.

According to police, at least two matatus are hijacked in Nairobi daily. Even grenade explosions are not something new.

On Friday, the Kasarani OCPD Augustine Nthimbi told The Standard on Sunday that they had apprehended one of the suspects of the Githurai hijacking in which two people died.

He said the suspect had confessed to having taken part in numerous hijackings, including one, a day after the Githurai-bound bus hijacking, where a bus belonging to Citi Hoppa was hijacked along Ngong Road.

Most of the matatu owners appear keen to maximise profits and would stop at nothing to achieve the safety of the passengers.

The crew is employed on casual basis and given a minimum amount that they should remit to the owner on a daily basis, the bus stops are chaotic as touts hassle for passengers.

Apart from a few Saccos like Umoinner, Citi Hoppa and Sun Bird that screen their passengers before they board, others do not. Interestingly, they do so at the city centre and not during the return trips.

A spotcheck at the Ronald Ngala stage showed that Paradiso Transport Company, the most recent victim with an awful experience, still does not screen passengers even after the hijacking incident in which one of their drivers was killed, leading to widespread protests.

The early 1990s saw a rise in the distinct matatu culture. At that time, the Kenya Bus Service operated on a monopoly and to compete with it, entrepreneurs targeted the youth, who were the majority. They invested heavily in signage and entertainment in order to provide a hip way of traveling. They left out security.

In his book ‘Matatu Men’, Kenyatta University Lecturer Mbugua Wa Muigai argues that by riding in a matatu, one can begin to understand the Kenyan society because the matatu, in many ways, represents the reality of Kenyan life.

Gang-raped

The loud music, heavily tinted windows, coloured lighting and overloading provides a perfect environment for hijackers and terrorists to operate.

Some matatus even switch off the lights so that police on roadblocks cannot see if they are overloaded.

This tactic also creates a perfect recipe for outsiders, police included, not to recognise that something is wrong in the matatu and offer help. Victims cannot see faces of the hijackers clearly.

 In India, the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Company installed CCTVs in 500 buses after a teenage girl was gang-raped inside one of their buses.

Kenyan matatus use millions of shillings to install entertainment systems and just a fraction of that could be used to install CCTV cameras.

Very few owners are willing to do that. Until they do, hijackers will continue having a field day until matatu Saccos recognise that security for their passengers and crew is paramount.