Nairobi's matatu operators,
and the car-owning classes, are in shock. After months of dithering,
hemming-and-hawing, the Amended Traffic Act came into force at the
stroke of midnight on Saturday, December 1st. Three days of a matatu strike
has not seen the Executive backing down, as it has been wont to do in
the past. When the Transport Ministry decided to phase out the
fourteen-seaters, the implementation of that policy was met with such
strident opposition that the programme was quietly shelved. Not so the
commencement of the harsher penalties unveiled in the Traffic Act.
As always, it is the commuting public that has borne the brunt of the reaction of matatu operators in Nairobi. Monday morning witnessed extortionate fares from the few operators who chose to put their buses on the roads to serve Nairobi's armies of work-bound employees. And as always, Nairobi's commuters took it stoically, with nary a whimper. It has been a long time coming. Despite what the representatives of the transport industry declaim, Public Service Vehicles have become a menace. Driven like bats out of hell, profit has been their North Star, the safety and comfort of their passengers being seen as inconveniences easily ignored. While Kenyans have stared horrified at the mounting statistics of death on our roads due to the madness, especially of matatu operators, it is the silent majority of the injured, the maimed, the incapacitated and the crippled that should cause us pause.
In a nation where the persons with disabilities receive the scant attention of an Executive with more important matters to take care of, the hundreds of thousands of Kenyans who have lost limbs and more to the madness on our roads continue to suffer a thousand times more because no facilities are provided to make their lives more livable. The right to life that the faith-based organisations so powerfully debated during the referendum campaign of 2010 must surely also mean that it is accompanied by a quality that makes that right meaningful. Of what benefit is it for the State to guarantee your life when even basic bodily functions cannot be carried out without being shamed in public places?
The Government of Kenya has done some to at least provide for access for those in wheel-chairs; but it has a long, tortuous road ahead of it if it is to make their lives as comfortable as for those who are able-bodied. Willy Mutunga promises to fire up his Judges so that the sclerotic pace of litigation is speeded up. He too faces a long, tortuous road for his Judiciary continues to avidly stymie his every progressive move. In its implementation of the amended Traffic Act, the Executive must demonstrate unwavering resolve. No more the two-steps-forward-one-step-back of yore. Criminally negligent and downright murderous drivers must be reminded that theirs is a privilege and not a right. They may drive on our public roads, but only if they accept that the roads belong to all and must be enjoyed in safety. If Amos Kimunya fails to see this task through, he should be hang by his ears from the nearest lamp-post (provided, of course, the scrap-metal vandals have not made away with them!)
As always, it is the commuting public that has borne the brunt of the reaction of matatu operators in Nairobi. Monday morning witnessed extortionate fares from the few operators who chose to put their buses on the roads to serve Nairobi's armies of work-bound employees. And as always, Nairobi's commuters took it stoically, with nary a whimper. It has been a long time coming. Despite what the representatives of the transport industry declaim, Public Service Vehicles have become a menace. Driven like bats out of hell, profit has been their North Star, the safety and comfort of their passengers being seen as inconveniences easily ignored. While Kenyans have stared horrified at the mounting statistics of death on our roads due to the madness, especially of matatu operators, it is the silent majority of the injured, the maimed, the incapacitated and the crippled that should cause us pause.
In a nation where the persons with disabilities receive the scant attention of an Executive with more important matters to take care of, the hundreds of thousands of Kenyans who have lost limbs and more to the madness on our roads continue to suffer a thousand times more because no facilities are provided to make their lives more livable. The right to life that the faith-based organisations so powerfully debated during the referendum campaign of 2010 must surely also mean that it is accompanied by a quality that makes that right meaningful. Of what benefit is it for the State to guarantee your life when even basic bodily functions cannot be carried out without being shamed in public places?
The Government of Kenya has done some to at least provide for access for those in wheel-chairs; but it has a long, tortuous road ahead of it if it is to make their lives as comfortable as for those who are able-bodied. Willy Mutunga promises to fire up his Judges so that the sclerotic pace of litigation is speeded up. He too faces a long, tortuous road for his Judiciary continues to avidly stymie his every progressive move. In its implementation of the amended Traffic Act, the Executive must demonstrate unwavering resolve. No more the two-steps-forward-one-step-back of yore. Criminally negligent and downright murderous drivers must be reminded that theirs is a privilege and not a right. They may drive on our public roads, but only if they accept that the roads belong to all and must be enjoyed in safety. If Amos Kimunya fails to see this task through, he should be hang by his ears from the nearest lamp-post (provided, of course, the scrap-metal vandals have not made away with them!)
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