Rude, vulgar, nasty, brash, and dubious are words that would be used effortlessly to tell the collective story of matatu operators.
If you are a regular commuter on Passenger Service Vehicles, then you’ve probably thought of them as conniving thieves too.
Matatu crews have earned quite a reputation for their unsavoury tendencies; from whimsically hiking fares and hurling insults at their customers at the slightest “provocation” to breaking traffic rules at will.
Sometimes they have gone as far as assaulting their passengers, or, worse, throwing them off moving vehicles. Some have even ended up behind bars for rubbing their customers the wrong way.
This is why the story of one matatu crew plying the Nairobi CBD-Kinoo route was so awe-inspiring when it made rounds on Facebook on Wednesday last week.
On the evening of the same day, we found out why. At exactly 4:30pm, Josphat Maina Mwangi’s van drives through the gates of the National Council for Persons With Disabilities (NCPWD), and Association for the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK) offices in Westlands.
This complex probably has more physically challenged people than any other place in the country. The matatu parks near the foyer.
