“Matatus are Nairobi and Nairobi is matatus.” - Binyavanga Wainaina, acclaimed Kenyan writer and activist
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https://nypost.com/2019/05/22/kenyan-author-lgbt-activist-binyavanga-wainaina-dead-at-48/
The story of the matatus is deeply rooted in Kenya's colonial history and representative of “Kenyanization” after independence in 1963.○ It begins with the construction of the railway that led to the development of the city of Nairobi. During the “Scramble for Africa” in the late 1800s, western imperial powers rushed to take strategic control of natural resources in Africa.○ One of those key resources was Lake Victoria which feeds the Nile River. Control of Lake Victoria and the Nile River meant better security of the Suez Canal, a key gateway to trade with India. The British wanted access to Lake Victoria to prevent other colonial powers like France, Germany, or Belgium from tampering with the water source or encroaching on their trade routes. Strategically, they allowed the British East Africa Company to construct a railway from the Kenyan coastal city of Mombasa to Kampala, Uganda in 1896 (Fig. 2 & Fig. 3).○ Nicknamed the “Lunatic Express” by British skeptics, the Uganda railway cost 5 million pounds and took five years to build.○ Construction of the railway, mostly by indentured labor from India, was brutal with many laborers falling prey to lions and becoming fatally ill with malaria. As a result, the British improvised a rest stop about halfway between the points in Enkare Nyirobi or “the place of cool waters'' in Maasai.○ This place came to be known as Nairobi.
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https://www.amusingplanet.com/2019/03/lunatic-express-train-that-gave-birth.html
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Aselmeyer, N. (2022). Ruin of empire. Journal of Educational Media, Memory, and Society, 14(1), 14-32. doi:10.3167/jemms.2022.140102This land was not unoccupied prior to the arrival of the British. The Kikuyu, Nandi, Embu, Maasai, and other Indigenous peoples, inhabited the area and had a different concept of urbanity that was rooted in nomadic communities with few permanent structures.○ To many Indigenous people, the railway was a manifestation of a prophecy by Nandi spiritual leader, Kimnyole arap Turukat, that said “white people would come who would wage war with the Nandi, kill their sons, seize their cattle, and drive them out of their homes” and described a “serpent that would crawl along the ground, shriek, and puff smoke.”○ As a result, the railway was known locally as the “Iron Snake” when construction began in 1896.○
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To justify their investment in the railway and strengthen control, the British Parliament made a concentrated effort to convince white settlers to move to the new city. At the time, both indentured Indian laborers and Indigenous Africans vastly outnumbered the white settlers.○ The Parliament used newspaper advertisements describing Nairobi as “white man’s country” rich with natural resources, available labor, and plots of fertile land. Over the decades, this messaging was successful and by 1957, an estimated 22,000 white settlers lived in Nairobi.○ From its conception, Nairobi was purposely segregated with its city limits only accessible to white people. To ensure the elevated status of whites in Kenya, the colonial government established laws systemically privileging white people over Africans. In 1913, the government passed a land bill that gave the white British settlers “999 year leases” on Nairobi’s fertile highlands.○ This bill forced Indigenous Africans to reservations outside of the city on lowlands that were difficult to farm. Next, the British instituted the “Kipande''system in 1919 which required African males to register themselves with the state at the age of 15, providing employment information and fingerprints to the state.○ Required to carry this identification at all times, the purpose of the Kipande system was to monitor and restrict the movements of Africans, allowing only laborers to enter the city for work. The result of these laws meant that African laborers lived on the outskirts unable to farm and, subsequently, had to seek employment in the city, often walking long distances to work. In 1920, Kenya was officially declared a colony of the British empire.○
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https://archive.unu.edu/unupress/unupbooks/uu26ue/uu26ue0o.htmAfter decades of colonization, Kenya declared independence from the British empire on December 12, 1963 after years of nationalist movements and the deadly Mau Mau Rebellion of the 1950s.○ After becoming independent, many white colonists and Indians fled Kenya fearing revenge while Africans began rapidly moving into their city. While a small public bus system called the Kenya Bus Service (KBS) was introduced by the British in 1934 and given monopoly status, it could not support the growing needs of the newly independent city.○ Consequently, matatus were developed by entrepreneurial Africans who constructed the makeshift vehicles from vehicles left by the British. Since matatus were operated by African community members and not by white British, matatus were also preferred by Africans. Matatus were also preferable because they were more affordable, frequent, and flexible; picking up and dropping off passengers close to home unlike the KBS which followed rigid routes mapped out by out-of-touch white city officials and cost fifty cents. Matatus also fit into the “Kenyanization○” rhetoric of Kenya’s new Black president, Jomo Kenyatta, who preached “Harambee.”○ Harambee or “All pull together” is a Swahili word that has become the official motto of Kenya.○ The various laws of the 1960s, however, outlawed matatus and subjected matatus to intense policing. Despite this, matatu owners viewed themselves as Kenyan patriots who were risking their livelihoods investing in the vehicles and fighting off police to fulfill African transportation needs. Moreover, passengers were extremely loyal to drivers, often lying to police that they were not paying customers but friends or family members -which was often the truth as well. Police were ineffective in preventing the operation of matatus and often accepted bribes from drivers. ○
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Matatu: A history of popular transportation in Nairobi (2017)
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https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/datablog/2013/dec/12/kenya-how-changed-independence-dataIn 1973, President Kenyatta declared matatus legal and exempted them from paying for road licenses.○ As a result, they were no longer subject to mechanical assessments from the government’s Trade and Licensing Board. During this time, the number of matatus grew exponentially as more people wanted to profit from their growth and drove recklessly competing for passengers. Drivers organized themselves forming the Matatu Vehicle Owners Association (MVOA) to represent matatu needs to the government and to organize the disparate operations. In 1984, President Daniel T. Arap Moi to address public concern over matatu safety and abruptly passed regulation requiring matatus to be inspected, insured, and licensed.○ This regulation was passed without warning to matatu drivers or input from matatu drivers which caused resentment. While the police carried out a massive crackdown on matatu drivers in 1985, the regulation was largely unimplemented but did lead to consolidation of the industry which reduced congestion and streamlined routes.○ In 1986, President Moi implemented a new government-operated bus system called the Nyayo Bus Service (NBS) with foreign investment from the Japanese, Dutch, and Danish.○ Like the KBS, the NBS was unsuccessful because Kenyans viewed the buses as a foreign threat to their livelihood. The aforementioned consolidation of the industry meant that only well-off matatu owners could continue operating and they further prevented others from entering the market by charging “goodwill payments” and “parking fees” to new drivers.○ Additionally, criminal gangs, such as the Mungiki, infiltrated the matatu industry and were hired by politicians to harass political opponents. By the 1990s, these wealthier matatu drivers bought fancier minivans and began to “trick out” their vehicles with elaborate artwork, lavish interiors, sound systems, and flat-screen TVs to attract customers.○ Since matatus have also risen in social status and allowed for physical and social mobility between African classes. Modern drivers represent a new era coined “Generation Matatu” of progressive drivers who have transferred matatus from a tool of the politicians back to a tool of the people.○ Generation Matatu also utilized the matatus for political organizing and spreading political messages via loud music. Matatus were utilized heavily in the famous week-long protest known as Saba Saba Rebellion which mobilized thousands against President Moi’s regime in 1990.○ Generation matatu also developed a unique “matatu culture” which was heavily influenced by American hip hop culture and has resulted in fashion trends and its own slang, “Sheng” (Swahili-English slang).○
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Matatu: A history of popular transportation in Nairobi (2017)
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In 2003, the government abruptly attempted to reign in matatus again through regulation by passing the Michuki rules. These rules enacted speed and passenger limits, required safety belts, banned standing passengers, and required matatu workers to be vetted by and registered with the state. It also required the workers to wear uniforms and paint yellow lines around their vehicles in an effort to standardize appearance. The regulation gave a two month period for compliance.○ Matatu owners and associations strongly opposed the regulation in part because of the high costs of the speed limiting devices and safety belts and led a two day strike against the regulation. The strike led to the deadline for compliance with the regulation to be pushed back a year. When the Michuki rules were enforced in 2004, much less matatus were on the road. This led to an increase in passenger fares but also beneficial changes such as a decrease in accidents and lower insurance rates for matatu owners. The Michuki rules were not, however, well enforced.
In 2010, the government required matatu owners to become members of Savings and Credit Cooperation Organizations (SACCO) to address the continued issue of gangs. Each matatu owner was required to join a SACCO and each SACCO had its own rules and regulations. This acted in a way as a form of self-regulation.○ In 2016, the government passed regulation that stopped the licensing of 14-seater matatus in favor of higher capacity vehicles (25+ passengers). Enforcement of this regulation, however, was deferred to 2019.○ In 2022, China built Kenya’s first major expressway which connects the suburbs of Nairobi to downtown but has discussed banning matatus from using it.○ Moreover, the expressway has high capacity bus lanes which matatus are unable to use because they do not qualify as such. Critics have said the expressway is intended for the few, very rich who own private vehicles.○
Today, Nairobi is rapidly expanding faster than most other cities in Africa and the need for reliable transportation is increasing. Matatus developed to fill a gap in the transporation industry and will continue to exist so as long as these gaps exisit. Attempts to regulate matatus have historically be imposed in a top-down method without input from drivers and poorly enforced as a result of a weak government. Without regulatory oversight, issues continue such as gangs, overcrowding, accidents, pollution, noise, and congestions. Any policies around matatus will shape Nairobi’s future and must be informed by its past.
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