Thousands stranded as matatu strike bites

Thousands of Kenyans braved early morning rains to walk to work and to school as matatus stayed away from the roads protesting at a traffic police crackdown on reckless driving and unroadworthy vehicles.

In Nyeri, officers from the Rapid Deployment Unit patrolled roads and empty matatu termini. Commuters left their homes early and scrambled to board buses and the handful of matatus in operation.

On Monday, many offices were reopening for the new year, and students reporting back for the new school term.

Officials of the Drivers and Conductors Association and the Matatu Welfare Association (MWA) said the first day of the strike was a success and the industrial action over alleged harassment by the police would go on unabated.

“It’s not that we are happy to punish commuters but there comes a time when even we have to sacrifice our incomes. We have had 98 per cent success and we’ll go on till Wednesday,” said Mr Dickson Mbugua, MWA chairman.

The three-day strike has been opposed by the Matatu Owners Association.

Safety campaign

Police commissioner Mathew Iteere dismissed accusations by the matatu operators and vowed not to relent on the road safety campaign.

“We will continue with these efforts until discipline and professionalism is instilled in all aspects of traffic management,” he said.

During the holiday season, usually a bad time on the roads, police statistics showed that accidents had reduced. There were 154 fewer deaths and severe injuries compared to a similar period in 2008.

Police attribute the improvement to the crackdown that mainly targets buses, matatus and heavy commercial vehicles.

In reaction to the complaints by matatu operators, Mr Iteere revealed that 60 police officers had been prosecuted or faced disciplinary panels for receiving bribes, especially from motorists.

In the just ended year, 26 officers, five of them inspectors, were prosecuted after being caught receiving bribes from motorists. Another 34 officers faced internal disciplinary panels, commonly referred to as ‘orderly room proceedings’ in the police force.

Students in public schools bore the brunt of the transport paralysis as they were stranded at bus stops, with their teachers failing to report to work on time, missing their first working day.

The strike failed to take place in Nakuru and the operators went about their work as usual after assurances those working would be provided with security.

The situation was different in Naivasha, Narok and Nyahururu as operators heeded the strike call.

There were fears that the outlawed Mungiki sect would harass motorists during the strike. Vehicle owners in the area vowed to stay put until traffic police stopped extorting bribes in the name of enforcing traffic rules.

There were no reports of violence or any ugly incidents in Nairobi and Matatu Owners Association chairman Simon Kimutai asked for more security for those who were working.