Matatus during this week’s strike. Beware when a police officer flags one down and you are in it – you may be their next source of revenue.
Traffic police officers in Kenya, and especially in Nairobi, are running an extortion racket targeting matatu passengers. The officers are at times suspected to be colluding with matatu crew in the racket that has netted a number of unsuspecting passengers.
A number of matatu passengers have reported being caught up in this racket.
A few weeks ago, under “The Watchman†column in The Daily Nation, a commuter on the Githurai 45 route narrated how a whole bus consisting of more than 40 passengers was booked in at the Kasarani police station for rioting. This time round, the commuters were taken to Milimani Law Courts where they were fined a KSh. 10,000 fine with the alternative of a 3 month jail sentence.
The unlucky commuters were caught up in a riot which broke out during a protests by touts on the fatal shooting of one of the touts by a policeman.
I also remember taking a new “Kimisa†bus on Mombasa Road at some point last year. The matatu was stopped by police officer along Enterprise Road. The officer then commandeered the bus and dropped us off at Bunyala Road, way off our final destination at railways. Of course, our fare was not refunded, in part or in full.
But some people have not been as lucky. I saw a tweet the other day. Some guys in a matatu were stopped by a traffic cop, who proceeded to board the matatu and commandeer it to a police station. At the police station, all passengers were booked in for not using a seat belt, and were only released after parting with bribes.
Also last year, a friend of mine travelling to Kitui in a matatu found himself and other passengers in a similar situation. After encountering police officers at a road block, they were driven to a police station, where they were all booked in for not using a seat belt. The passengers were only released after spending the night at the station and paying bribes the following day.
Some time ago, during a matatu crackdown at Cabanas, on stopping a matatu, police officers were surprised when passengers alighted and took off on their heels. The standing passengers, acting on the knowledge that traffic police are not usually armed, preferred to take off knowing very well that traffic police will rarely give chase.
The same tactic is also deployed by matatu touts, who often take to their heels when their matatus are stopped in a crackdown.
Be warned however that some roadblocks are manned by armed police officers and the offence of resisting arrest is treated as more sinister traffic offence.
Most matatu commuters do not bother using seat belts as these are usually of poor quality, dirty, and not properly functioning in most matatus. As such, rogue police officers usually use this as a trumped up charge to extort bribes from passengers.
Next time you are in a matatu and are stopped by a police officer, be careful to not fall victim to this tricks. In some instances though, passengers are usually booked at the scene of crime (where the matatu is stopped).
Most of the times however, you are booked once the matatu gets to a police station – so you may have be careful not to let the driver take you to a police station. It is cheaper to forego your fare and board another vehicle than to pay a bribe.
Also note that people asking you to clip on your seatbelts are usually looking to take advantage of your being distracted to pickpocket you, and are not good samaritans at all.
Feeling caught between a rock and a hard place?