The former Editor of 'Matatu Today' magazine back at
some of the pivotal moments in the public transport industry in 2012
Jan: The bulk of the work on the Sh31 billion Thika
Superhighway is complete, transforming the literal and economic landscape around
it. While comments on the 3-year mega project are mainly positive, there is
concern about the high rate of accidents on the new road.
Jan 29: The Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) calls on the
government to reconsider the controversial 14 seater phase-out policy. The
policy recommends buses over smaller, more popular, Nissans as a way of easing
road congestion and other complications.
Feb: Announcement that Matatu Express - a documentary film about the everyday struggles of
young people living in a slum in Nairobi - will be shown in Ontario, Canada, at
the Gayety Theater 0n Thursday, March 22.
Mar 16: A minibus conductor is stabbed to death during a
carjacking incident along Jogoo Road, Nairobi.
Apr: Famed cartoonist Frank Odoi, dies aged 64 when the
matatu he is travelling in overturns. He was the author of the Driving Me Crazy comic strip, among many
other works.
May: Ministry of Roads is voted the most improved among
Government ministries in service delivery over the previous year (Ethics and
Anti-Corruption Commission survey).
May: Matatu strike brings city to a grinding halt.
Jul 4: The Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) calls for further
consultation on the proposed Traffic Amendment Bill. Association chairman Dickson Mbugua calls for
revisions before the President signs the draconian Bill into law.
Jul 29: Over 50 enraged matatu operators from route 23 (Westlands)
block sections of University Way and Harry Thuku Road with their vehicles, protesting police
harassment and demanding the release of their four colleagues who had been
arrested shortly before.
Jul 5: Hundreds of passengers from Thika town and its environs are left
stranded when over 100 matatu owners go on strike, led by their chairman
Michael Kariuki, protesting ‘invasion’ by PSV vehicles from other areas.
Aug: Transport index goes down by 0.82 per cent between
July 2012 and August 2012 mainly due to falls in matatu, bus and taxi fares
that reflect the continued trend in reductions of petrol and diesel prices,
according to figures released by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics (KNBS).
Oct 2: Matatu Today magazine is re-introduced to the market and gets mainly
positive reviews by PSV industry stakeholders.
Oct 19: Pollster Ipsos Synovate release a road safety
report indicating that a ‘Majority of Kenyans do not take personal responsibility
for road safety.’
Oct 30: All matatu owners and drivers are asked to take
their PSVs for a free inspection clinic to last until the end of November.
Traffic Commandant Ben Kibue assures Matatu operators that they will not be
harassed.
Oct: Police in Nyandarua issue a warning to gangs that
have been harassing matatu operators in the area, extorting money at the PSV
terminals.
Nov 7: H.E. Hon. Mwai Kibaki launches the construction of the
122km Turbi-Moyale road. The section of the road to be upgraded to bitumen
standard is part of the 500 km Isiolo-Moyale Highway.
Nov: Number of traffic-related deaths tops 2,500 for the year so far (Traffic
Police report)
Nov 9: H.E. Hon. Mwai Kibaki commissions Thika
Superhighway, officially opening it up for business. Present on this auspicious
occasion is the Chinese Ambassador to Kenya, He Liu Guangyuan; Kenya Highways
Authority director-general, Meshack Kidenda, and the Minister for Roads,
Franklin Bett. The road is part of the trans-Africa Highway running from Cape
Town in South Africa to Cairo in Egypt.
Nov 18: 10 people are killed and 25 seriously injured when
an explosive goes off inside a matatu mini-bus in Eastleigh township, Nairobi.
The explosion is believed to be caused by a grenade or improvised explosive
device (IED).
Nov 24 - 25: Paul Karanja, chairman of a matatu sacco in
Nanyuki, is shot and wounded by unknown assailants.
Nov 29: A massive
matatu strike cripples public transport countrywide as matatu industry
stakeholders protest the signing of the punitive Traffic Amendment Bill into
law. In Nairobi, buses belonging to City
Hoppa, KBS and Double M are temporarily forced to stay off the road by the
protesters. Public reaction is mixed but with the majority siding with the law
that calls for alarmingly high penalties for traffic offences such as drunken
driving and overlapping.
Nov 30: Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) chairman, Dickson
Mbugua, calls off matatu strike after holding talks with Transport PS, Cyrus
Njiru, on a possible review of contentious new traffic laws. Matatu Owners
Association (MOA) chairman, Simon Kimutai, also calls on matatu operators to
return to work. MOA had earlier condemned the Traffic Law Amendment Act 2012,
saying it was specifically targeted at matatu operators.
Dec 18: Court finds 6 Administration Policemen accused of
killing 7 taxi operators in Kawangware on March 2010 guilty.
Dec 18: A Kameme FM/K24 correspondent and a QTV/MTV
journalist are attacked by touts and taxi operators in Meru while trying to
cover flouting of traffic rules.
Dec 18: Speaking in Thika, Deputy Traffic Commandant, Samuel Kimaru, urges road users to
exercise caution the festive season. At the same venue, Ministry of Health decries
high number of accidents involving boda
bodas.
Dec: Massive reshuffle in police force as numerous
senior traffic commanders in Nairobi are redeployed.