We need a revolution to restore sanity

Scenario one: A traffic police officer flags down an overlapping matatu. The driver seems to ignore the order but the officer stands his ground. He wants the driver and the tout to explain why they are flagrantly disobeying traffic laws and putting the lives of other road users in danger.

However, something interesting happens when they arrive at the police station. The officer receives a call from “above.” Minutes later, the matatu is back on the road, its crew totally unfazed.

Scenario two: Mheshimiwa, in a large SUV with several escort cars, gets on to a busy road. Since he feels too important to be stuck in traffic with the rest of wananchi, his entourage swerves to the wrong side of the road or overlaps with impunity.

In typical kiss up, kick down style, the traffic police officers salute zealously as mheshimiwa zooms by while ordinary motorists who dare to emulate him/her are flagged down and forced to part with a bribe.

Anyone who has been on Kenyan roads knows that it is a jungle affair out there. The strong and the moneyed have their way. The not-so-strong complain but take no action. Looking down the street from their ivory towers, the authorities seem either defeated or just plain indifferent.

Then there is the culture of silence among Kenyans even when their own lives are in danger. Have you ever been in a dangerously driven matatu and all the passengers were silent like sheep being led to slaughter? What is most worrying is not so much the driver’s antics of overtaking at blind spots, brazen overlapping, or breakneck speed but the silence that greets such actions.

ACT WITH IMPUNITY

It is this silence that emboldens matatu crews to act with impunity and traffic police officers to keep collecting bribes instead of enforcing the rules.
It is no wonder that thousands of lives are unnecessarily lost on our roads every year. The foregoing is symptomatic of everything that is wrong with Kenya.

When we sort out the impunity of matatus and other inconsiderate road users, insist on the strict enforcement of traffic laws, and stop being passive when our rights as passengers are breeched, then we shall kick out the malady that ails us.

When the National Transport and Safety Authority came into being, hope among many Kenyans was rekindled. At first the officers seemed energetic and determined to restore sanity on the roads.

But time has shown that we could all have been wrong, not so much in authority’s ability to get the job done but in expecting that anything could change without us changing first. Not surprisingly, reports of bribe-taking by safety authority officials have been flying around.

Then there are the usual knee-jerk reactions and issuing of threats and directives that cannot be implemented. The shine that the authority had when it burst on the scene has given way to doubt as it joins the long list of failed public institutions.

DIGNITY IN PUBLIC TRANSPORT

The last time Kenyans felt safe on the roads was when Mr John Michuki was the minister for Transport. Mr Michuki singlehandedly took on the matatu culture and implemented far-reaching changes that ensured safety and dignity in public transport. No amount of boycotts, lobbying, or threats would sway him. How do we get out of this rut?

In the short to medium term, the country needs a respected and dynamic leader at the helm of the infrastructure and transport Ministry. The public transport service is run by powerful graft networks and gangs who have no regard for life, rights, or the rule of law. Getting them to shape up or ship out will require a leader who is not ready to negotiate on human rights, the rule of law, and gambling with the lives of Kenyans.

Kenyans must hold their leaders and other road users to account. They must take responsibility by speaking out to ensure that service providers respect their lives and treated them with dignity.

In the longer term, the country needs a cultural revolution. It is a revolution which may be championed by a leader or engineered by ordinary citizens tired of the status quo.

It is this revolution that will force elected leaders to respect the rights of the citizens, determine the quality of leaders we elect, reduce corruption in public service, get police officers to serve all without discrimination, and restore sanity on our roads.

Mr Nyang’aya is Amnesty International Kenya country director. [email protected].