Riding on virtues, Oma bus service paves way for public accountability

A fleet of public service vehicles operated by Oma Bus Management. [File, Standard]

In this growing sea of corruption, and the chaos that defines the matatu sector, it’s important to reckon chinks of hope still abound, the most recent flicker, Joseph Mathenge records, coming from an Eastlands-bound matatu operated by Oma Bus Management.

It was last Sunday, when Mathenge mistakenly sent Sh120 to a mobile account number that resembled the one operated by the bus service. When he informed the conductor of the mistake, he was ordered to make a fresh payment, as the conductor claimed he had no way of accessing the other account. He did exactly that and carried on with the journey.

Still, Mathenge was unsatisfied that his cash had disappeared into a bottomless pit where no one could access it, so he pursued the matter the following day, reporting to the Gill House office where the matatu service operates from. It didn’t take long for the managers there to trace the amount. It had been claimed by the very conductor who purported he had no way of accessing it.

Through the intervention of one Mueni and Njoroge, the conductor was summoned and ordered to return the Sh120 that he had pocketed the previously night. The most valuable lesson from this is not the recovery of Sh120; it’s the bigger and more consequential gesture of restoring honesty and integrity.

The Oma Bus Management has gone further; the conductor has been suspended for misconduct, an action that avails him ample time to reflect on his actions and hopefully alter the way he discharges his duties in future.