Graffiti on Matatus
“I can’t believe this, it’s like we are in a scene of X-zibit’s Pimp my ride show!” exclaimed John in disbelief, his eyes constantly rolling to have a good glimpse of every inch in the Matatu. John is a 28 year old American expatriate who was recently posted to Nairobi as a market researcher and upon observing the Matatus, he was so mesmerized by the culture that he just had to travel on one to experience the thrill first hand. “Yes”, the young lady next to her replied, “The pimping begun as a fad but now it’s more of a culture, superb isn’t it?” He nodded his head in a very slow motion, his eyes twinkling in amazement and a smile blossomed on his lips. Despite the driver’s little regard to the traffic rules and regulations, and the conductor’s unpredictability in fare charges and poor skills in customer service, younger commuters nonetheless prefer the ‘Manyagas’ (Pimped Matatus with loud music) to the ‘Wangoras’ (The older Matatus without multicolored graffiti and no music) which the older generation commonly use. Although John was without doubt captivated by this culture, he didn’t fully understand the cogs that put this wheel into motion.
Out of the need of the common mwananchi, who doesn’t own a private vehicle, to travel from point A to point B, public service vehicles [PSV’s] came into the picture here in Kenya during the colonial era. When Matatus made their first appearance in the late 1960’s, the standard fare for a trip was three coins worth thirty Kenyan cents. Swahili for three is ‘tatu’ and this is how the word ‘Matatu’ was later coined. With the introduction of the Kenya’s creolised Swahili language Sheng’ in the 1980’s, the word was then later changed to ‘Mat’ or ‘Mathree’ which are more popular with the urban contemporary youth. Necessity is surely the mother of invention, fast forward a few decades into its commencement; the Matatu industry has broken most traffic laws creating a new culture which has now become a hub of creativity. This has in turn generated other related industries which are vital for ‘Pimping’ the Mats for an overall thrill and appeal for travelers and in turn bring in more profits for the owners. Local musicians too use them in their music videos and advertising agencies use these pimped Mats in their adverts.
A Matatu in Nairobi
Before the Government and consequently the famous Michuki rules came into play in February 2004, this industry was run in a very helter-skelter manner with only the ‘Kamjesh’ and the outlawed ’Mungiki’ maintaining order and collecting royalties from operators in various routes. In addition to that, this culture has continued spreading its roots even deeper in both big and small towns in Eastern and Central Africa. They say ignorance is bliss, so on that note it would be sheer ignorance for the public, who use the Mats as their main mode of transportation not to acknowledge the vital role they play in the industry. Firstly, they create employment to a substantial large percentage of the citizens who work on these moving discos, as they are popularly known. From the drivers to the touts, from the graffiti artists to the interior and exterior designers, from deejays to vee-jays and musicians, and of course the DVD and speaker sellers, one Matatu alone can generate income to 20 or more people. Since there are about 25,000 Matatus in operation in every major city in Kenya, the mathematics is simple and it is for these figures that the economy should be gracious.
Every talent is God given and not exploiting one’s talent by letting it desecrate is erroneous. The Matatu culture nurtures talents. Graffiti artists get a chance to showcase their art on these Mats and eventually inspire and pave way for other upcoming artists who boast the same talent. Local musicians, deejays and vee-jays also get an audience for their work. Thirdly, the transport industry, as any other industry which isn’t monopolistic, requires competition for it to flourish. There are the buses, taxis, boda bodas and the train which are in this business and need to be kept on check, something the Mats deserve a standing ovation for executing extremely well. Lastly, the revenue collected is remarkable because apart from the Government (which collects its revenue from vehicle, drivers, and touts licenses), the Music Copyright Society of Kenya (MCSK) also gets royalties from Mats that play music then they pay the artists concerned and are registered with them. That being said, it’s time for me to catch a Mat too before rush hour.
Matatu Picking up Passengers
