Uproar over impunity of matatu owned by senior Gov’t official’s son

The Matatu Crew Welfare Association has decried being discriminated against in dispensing justice in the matatu industry.

This as two matatu vehicles plying the Ngong - Nairobi route have been notorious in breaking traffic laws in broad daylight in front of traffic police.

The matatus are said to belong to the son of a prominent high-level government official and police are said to be afraid of arresting them for fear of losing their jobs or being transferred.

According to the association, the two vehicles do not follow the law and have been blocking and harassing other operators.

"Kuna magari watu wanasema ni za serikali, gari haina at jina ya Sacco…gari inakuja hapa inareverse kwa roundabout, askari wanaangalia tu,” said WIlfred Bosire, the association chairman.

They claim to have reported the matter to the traffic police, but the police are scared to handle the matter.

The vehicles are said to lack PSV, insurance, and do not belong to any Sacco.

Jasper, an investor in the matatu sector, told Citizen TV that: “Nyinyi kama waandishi wa habari, ningependa mchunguze hiyo gari kama imepita kiwango ya kufanya kazi ya matatu kulingana na sheria za trafiki na NTSA Act.”

A little digging and a quick search of the matatu confirmed that indeed they are not in the official NTSA portal.

They also lack Road Service Licenses (RSL) and have not been inspected. An inspection search further showed that indeed one matatu was not inspected.

Citizen TV also confirmed whether the two matatus are registered in any Sacco, and the results were shocking.

In normal occurrences, vehicles at the Railways stage have to queue for up to four hours to be able to carry passengers, but these vehicles are said to not follow these guidelines.

Citizen TV verified this by filming one of the matatus along Railways round about dropping off passengers, causing obstruction in the presence of a police officer.

The vehicle was also seen reversing in front of police officers to pick passengers ahead of other vehicles that had been waiting for hours in line.

The police are said to be aware of the same and have not been doing anything concerning the issue claiming to have been threatened about the same.

“Askari wa trafiki, hata Regional Commander, hawaeziongelea hizo magari, hii ni nchi gani tunaishi? People are scared, they can’t speak, but some of us must speak whether we’re going to be abducted or not. We want fairness in doing business,” added Jasper.

Citizen TV also went ahead and did a search on the ownership of the vehicles and it revealed that the son of a prominent politician, whose name has been withheld for security reason, indeed owns them.

“His son cannot rape the same Constitution that he's supposed to take care of,” stated Jasper.

Wilfred added: “Huwezi sema gari ni ya serikali…si iwekwe GK basi, ifanye kazi ya serikali…atuwache tufanye kaz ya PSV.”

The crew operators are now planning to hold demonstrations next week on Wednesday, August 7th, if nothing is done on the same.

They claim to not be against anyone doing business, but that they want everyone to follow the law.

“We’re going to demonstrate in Nairobi…we’re going to block all the roads because we can’t accept impunity," said Jasper.

The NTSA has several requirements that matatu operators must meet before they are allowed to carry out the business.

One of them is that the vehicle must have a valid inspection certificate, a valid insurance cover, and a valid road service licence.

Another requirement is that once you identify the route you want to operate in, you will need to identify a matatu Sacco to join.

Saccos are a mandatory requirement for all matatus; Citizen TV has since established that the said matatus are not in any Sacco.