Kenya pays dearly for abandoning Michuki Rules

The Sunday accident where a bus belonging to the Modern Coast services plunged into River Nithi along the Meru – Mombasa highway has brought back memories of the many incidents that saw the stringent Muchuki Rules introduced to enhance safety on the roads.

In June 2022, the door of a Kileleshwa-bound matatu fell off as it left the Nairobi city centre along Latema Road. Passengers in the 14-seater matatu were forced to board another one as the faulty vehicle was taken to a garage along Kirinyaga road.

Loise Mumbi, one of the passengers in the faulty matatu that evening, was shaken, not knowing what would have happened if the door had fallen off when the matatu had already hit the highway and probably speeding.

“It was horrifying imagining what the scene would have been if the matatu was on the highway,” a shaken Mumbi said.

The laws were introduced by the no-nonsense Transport minister John Michuki in 2004, hence the moniker ‘Michuki Rules’. Enforcement was brutal, bringing order to the chaotic public transport sector for the first time in the history of Kenya.

Indeed, the radical regulations reduced road accidents massively, by over 70 per cent nationally, according to Transport ministry records at the time. Fatal accidents involving urban Public Service Vehicles (PSVs) also fell by over 90 per cent within just a few months of the introduction of the rules.

Under the rules, matatu crews and owners were to ensure high levels of safety for passengers and other road users, including pedestrians. This would be achieved by installing speed governors and safety belts.

Before the rules came into force, matatu and bus crews determined the number of passengers to carry and the routes to use. However, Michuki Rules outlawed overloading.

Passengers, matatu drivers, and conductors were expected to be disciplined and to have a clean security record.

PSVs were also expected to be painted with a yellow line to distinguish them from other vehicles. At the same time, matatu crews – drivers and conductors – were to have badges identifying them and always in uniform. Dustbins were also provided in all matatus to avert littering. Each matatu was also required to belong to a Sacco to enhance accountability, especially in case of incidents.

And it seemed to work until things fell apart when Michuki was moved to the Ministry of Environment and Mineral Resources in the Grand Coalition cabinet. The impact of his transfer was immediate as per the number of fatal accidents that happened soon after, including the Fort Ternan bus crash on October 10, 2018, on the Kisumu–Muhoroni Highway which killed 52 and injured scores of others.

And 18 years later, implementation of the famous rules continues to be lax even as accidents remain rampant.

Today, several routes are dotted with rickety and un-roadworthy PSVs. Most of them are without seat belts or litter bins. The yellow line is also faded while others don’t have it. In some matatus, there are safety belts but they are not working. Others are unkept and therefore, passengers avoid them. Passengers prefer not to soil their clothes despite the risk of not using seat belts.

Drivers and their conductors no longer wear uniforms or badges. Simply put, no one is complying with the Michuki Rules anymore.

Players in the transport industry are pointing accusing fingers at each over failed efforts to ensure sanity in the sector with traffic police officers being put at the centre of the mess. The officers have been accused of being keen only to collect bribes more than they are willing to ensure compliance with the law.

The matatu madness now defines the sector. Loud music that Michuki banned is now the order of the day. Some matatu crews are as unruly as ever. Many matatus have been marked with all kinds of artworks, away from the yellow band that the ‘Michuki Rules’ prescribed.

Out of ten vehicles sampled along Jogoo Road, Nairobi, for instance, eight were playing loud music that was accompanied by audio-visual entertainment.

Some drivers were driving dangerously, including on road shoulders and pavement. This happens mainly during peak hours.

Most matatus lack the yellow line. They had colourful artwork on their exterior as well as on the interior.

Out of the 15 matatus sampled along Juja road, 13 had overloaded.

Traffic rules prescribed a fine of Sh10,000 for every seat in PSV without a safety belt. A passenger found in a moving vehicle without a seat belt risked paying a fine of Sh500.

None of the matatus sampled on Juja road had a single working seat belt. For the few that had, the belts were defective and dirty.

Out of ten matatus sampled along Ngong road and another ten on Mombasa road, only three and four respectively had litter bins. The National Environmental Management Authority ordered matatus to have the dust bins to cut down on the amount of trash PSVs generate.

Uniforms and the display of badges by conductors while on duty no longer happen. In some cases, a matatu has more than one conductor.

Out of 10 matatus sampled along Thika road, no conductor wore maroon trousers, shirt, and jacket. Only two drivers were seen in navy blue trousers, shirts, and jackets. However, none had the badge.

A manager with a matatu sacco in Ngong blamed the failure to implement road safety rules on traffic police officers whose main focus, he said, is to collect bribes.

“That is why you will find some vehicles operating without the necessary documents and their crews disrespecting passengers because the police are not doing their work as provided for in the law. This has been left to saccos which are not effective,” said the official who did not wish to be named for fear of victimisation.

Before 2004, insanity reigned in the transport sector with criminal gangs taking over the industry. The same madness is creeping back.

Matatu Welfare Association (MWA), the operators, and the police admit the laxity in enforcing road safety rules is messing up the sector but non is willing to take responsibility.

“Michuki’s rules have failed because the police don’t sustain crackdowns. We are doing well today but a few days later, we are back to square one because of exploitation by the police who are extorting money from matatu operators,” said MWA chairman Dickson Mbugua.

He blamed authorities for the poor enforcement of the rules. “We know how to draft good policies and laws yet police officers who are supposed to enforce the laws are collecting bribes from the operators and they do it openly these days. It’s like it has become official,” said Mbugua.

He added: “Some PSVs are rarely taken for inspection risking the lives of passengers and other road users because the police will allow the matatus to remain on the roads after they have been bribed. Yet inspection is supposed to be done regularly.”

National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) said owners of the PSVs are to blame for not servicing their vehicles as required by the law.

“It is the responsibility of the vehicle owner to take the car for inspection and the role of police to enforce the laws,” said Gerard Wangai, NTSA’s Director of Motor Vehicle Inspection.

Nairobi Traffic Commandant Joshua Omukata said Michuki rules ceased to exist almost a decade ago.

“Currently, what we have in place is called Traffic Act and we have not stopped enforcing it. We have records of people who have been arrested and charged in court for flouting the traffic rules,” said Omukata.

He said ‘Michuki Rules’ became famous at that time because of the name of the person behind them. “The traffic police department is very active, working closely with NTSA and other stakeholders to enforce the Traffic Act. As a matter of fact, we have been carrying out crackdowns on fake speed governors and other related cases.”

National Police Service spokesperson Bruno Shioso admitted there are challenges to the enforcement of the traffic rules.

“We address emerging challenges as they come and request the public to continue cooperating with us to fix the transport industry in a sustainable manner,” Shioso said.

A spot check by The Standard also established that there are many un-roadworthy vehicles that have been allowed to operate.

At the city centre, some of the reserved spaces such as walkways have been turned into matatu terminuses with the resurgence of stage cartels that extort money from matatu operators.

“Look at Thika, Kiambu, Kayole, Huruma, Githurai and Machakos matatus, for example, they are all over in town. It’s all chaotic,” said a matatu operator James Mwadime adding, “This is all because the police are not doing their work.”

It emerged that the bus that killed people in the 2018 accident at Fort Ternan had excess passengers yet it had passed through several police roadblocks.

The owner and the fleet manager were charged in court for operating an un-roadworthy vehicle and flouting guidelines governing PSV operations.

And in December last year, a traffic policeman was killed after a matatu lost control and hit him along Valley Road in Nairobi. At least five other people were injured when the matatu hit six other vehicles and a building.

By April 2022, statistics by the NTSA showed that 1,345 people have died from road-related accidents since the beginning of this year, an increase from 1,168 deaths reported in the same period last year.

The same report indicated that the number of pedestrian fatalities rose to 457, slightly higher than the 374 cases reported over the same period last year.

The increased accidents have been attributed to speeding, failure to wear helmets and seat belts, drunk driving, and distracted driving, among others.

As at April 11, 2022, 127 drivers died in road accidents, 225 passengers died, 18 fatalities were recorded from pedal cyclists while 381 motorcyclists’ fatalities were also recorded.

Passengers who spoke to The Standard said they wish the “Michuki Rules” can be enforced.

“It is too dangerous to use a matatu today. Some have many TV screens, including on the seats. They play loud music and show dirty videos even without caring about the ages of those on board,” said Alice Wasike, a resident of Rongai.

Solomon Onchiri, a commuter on Juja road, said many matatus are carrying passengers beyond their capacities. “Yet, most of the time, traffic police officers would stop the vehicles, collect money and allow them to continue.”