Matatus in cheering football: Growth of Nganya culture

Matatus ferrying fans to a football match. [Courtesy]

It is 7 a.m. on a cool Sunday morning in Kisii town. The streets are still waking up, but crowds are already gathering watching the spectacle unfold in front of them. The air is electric. A matatu, no, a nganya gleams under the rising sun. Painted in customized flashy themes, it pulses with bass from hidden speakers, its body adorned with murals of football legends and slogans that scream identity.

Hyped for weeks, the pandemonium hit fever pitch as the anticipated football match dubbed the Nyanza derby, saw hundreds of football fans travel overnight from Nairobi to Kisii town to cheer their beloved teams.