The Tale Of Kenya’s Colorful Matatu Culture

By Martha Etale

Public transport is the mainly used means of road transport in Kenya, especially in the capital city, Nairobi. The majority of Kenyans use matatu for transport.

“Matatu” is a Swahili word that means three, but in Kenya mostly it is referred to as transport Nairobi commuters on and out of daily basis. However these matatus have life on their own, they are now one of the main attractions in  Nairobi and still being very cost-friendly.

The exact numbers of matatu operating in Nairobi are unknown, though Kenya’s Transport Ministries estimates that 70 percent of the city commuters rely on the matatus.

Youths mostly are the main users of privately owned matatus due to the love of the uniqueness they got. This uniqueness is brought by the graffiti artists who try to make a matatu louder than the other using graffiti arts, with custom designs covered with flashy colors. The more artistic a matatu is the more prominent it becomes and the more passengers get attracted to it.

Muhammed Ali popularly known as Moha of Grafix is a graphic artist who cut a niche in the matatu art industry and built it into business has transformed his life and produced many artists. “Actually, it is pure talent. I started this in primary school. I used to sketch different vehicles and this really sharpened my skills,” Moha said.

These mini buses are also known for loud music, they have big televisions and speakers mounted inside the buses and some also have disco lights, while inside someone might think you are in a club, although there is fear that the government might bun the culture due to the noise pollution. On Tuesday 2nd of Feb matatus from Ngong route did not operate for a few morning hours due to the operation that was going on after the police started arresting the mathrees playing loud music.

Mostly these matatus have their owners and they tend to employ workers like the drivers and also the conductors in which they are given a range of money to be brought to the owner after the business conducted during the day. For one to attain the amount of money and also get to pay themselves the matatu workers are seen to cover speed to beat time and go as many trips as possible to hit the target, mainly they also tend to find alternative ways to beat traffic, they overlap or sometimes use the wrong routes.

If you ask me what I prefer I’ll say I love the matatu culture and  prefer matatus for transport majorly on how they try to beat the traffic that saves time, and also the art in them that presents beauty and music too.’When you see the matatus and the art, you really understand Nairobi, because Nairobi is a city that is run by the youths,” said Brian Wanyama who founded the Matatu Matwana culture.