President can halt madness on our roads

Who will save the thousands of Kenyans who lose their lives every year on our roads?

Who will come to the rescue of the thousands more who are maimed, orphaned, and widowed?

The madness on Kenyan roads must be brought under control to end this carnage that is robbing our country of precious human capital.

We need sanity in our public transport. The matatu industry has become a law unto itself, resisting every effort to reform it.

Even self-regulation through saccos has not succeeded in taming some matatu operators who flout traffic rules, tamper with speed governors, play loud music and dirty videos, and overlap, causing unnecessary traffic jams.

These matatus have caused deaths and life-changing injuries to many people.

I believe the President can help improve the situation on our roads.

I do not believe the presidency has lost its power due to the current Constitution to the extent that it has become helpless.

Remember how the President dealt with the illicit alcohol menace that was robbing this country of thousands of lives every year?

ILLICIT BREW

In my neighbourhood, it was common to see youth in their twenties looking like old men, shuffling along with hunched shoulders.

Many would die in their sleep after imbibing the poison that passed for alcohol.

But the situation has changed since President Uhuru Kenyatta turned his attention to this menace.

I now see young men who still take their drink but are now a lot healthier and stronger.

Growing up, I remember that there was always a cat-and-mouse game between chiefs and their assistants and chang’aa makers and sellers.

The provincial administration completely failed to eradicate this menace.

However, when the President took a stand and showed that he was committed to the cause, everything changed.

I recently visited my rural home and was impressed to observe that all illicit liquor joints were out of business.

I remember thinking that if the President had acted earlier, the lives of some of my relatives would have been saved.

I learned that two chiefs had been sacked because they could not cope with the changes.

This is what is needed to bring sanity to our public transport.

ACT NOW

I am sure there are many Kenyans and law-enforcement officers who are ready and willing to bring about this change if they have the right backing, especially from the highest office in the land.

I am a technician, so I understand machines well. Matatus equipped with loud horns and playing loud music, are a health hazard in more ways than one.

Apart from the obvious one of damaging the hearing of passengers, crews, and everyone around and distracting their attention, loud sounds do not allow the driver and the crew to listen to the engine and, therefore, know that there is a problem.

In addition, the vibrations weaken the engine and the body.

The government should play its role of protecting the people, among them young children, who are exposed to lurid music videos in matatus.

The President recently allowed graffiti on matatus — referred to as — pimping.

However, there should be some control over what artwork is permissible because some of it tends to praise vices such as rebellion, drug abuse, and violence.

I hope that the President will take up this call. I believe that he is well able to bring about the change that we need so desperately in our public transport.

He sent out a clear message to drug traffickers that it is no longer business as usual at the port of Mombasa when he destroyed a shipload of drugs.

To bring change to public transport in Kenya, matatu operators need to receive such a firm and unequivocal message.

The author is a plant technician in Nairobi. [email protected]