Matatu Culture

“London Has Red Buses, Nairobi Has Art Jewels.”

In Nairobi matatus are not just a means of transportation. These ‘pimped out’ rides are a symbol of the country, a part of the urban culture. The art and graffiti adorned on these PSVs represents a deep appreciation of modern and contemporary art forms by the Kenyan people. Apart from the negative stereotype of annoyingly loud music and criminally rude conductors, the matatu sector in the country has set a standard in originality and ‘pimping it out’.

A few years ago LCD screens were the height of a ‘souped up’ matatu, with the screens facing the pedestrians and other road users outside as opposed to the commuters inside the matatu; the standard has since been raised. Umoinner (a place in Nairobi) buses are one of the most well-known souped up matatus because of their edgy designs as is evident in the photo below.

In the mornings the passengers are rarely subjected to loud music, rather, they are entertained with hilarious phone-in discussions on FM stations. Most of these discussions revolve around people from all over the country seeking advice on cheating spouses, absentee husbands, broken marriages, and workplace drama. I guess this gives the passengers some consolation that their own problems are not as big as they had previously thought them to be.

All through the day, the matatus play loud music, having custom sound systems fitted underneath the passenger seats, with plasma screens mounted at the front of the matatu for all the passengers to enjoy as they go along their journey, however short. In the night time, LED lights are activated transforming the matatus into meaner mobile discotheque machines.

Another screaming feature of these public transport vehicles, as mentioned previously, is the art on their body. Matatus in Kenya are like fingerprints; no two are alike. Each graffiti design is different from the next and will usually be an incorporation of pop culture symbols and figures, music icons, along with contemporary slogans and phrases. The artistic prowess displayed here is one to reckon with. The more unique and attractive the matatu’s design, the more popular it becomes and the more likely it is to attract passengers and beat competition. In a bid to stay on top of their game, some matatus have recently started fitting Wi-Fi connectivity as well as satellite TV in order to lure more passengers. These matatus are especially popular with the urban Kenyan youths who own smartphones and who have acquired a need for constant internet connectivity.

Can Kenyans be called the ‘inventors’ of matatus? No. But we did transform the industry. We took plain old buses and 14-seater vans and made pieces of art out of them; a phenomenon that represents everything beautiful and unique in our public transportation system. The matatu culture as we know it has received love and hate in equal proportion, with a large population of older generations expressing their dissatisfaction with the evolution of the matatu industry. So much has been presented on rate of matatu related accidents in Kenya, which might be the reason they have received so many negative reviews.

Although the vehicles are in existence in other countries, the matatu as we have it is truly a Kenyan invention. The matatu represents a rebellious movement formed by independent youth unhappy with society. They intend to be ‘live and die free’ and no amount of laws should hinder them from doing exactly what they feel like doing. In a society that does so little for the youth in terms of job provision or even role modeling, this form of expression of defiance should come as no surprise. One sign of outright rebellion is when the police arrest and harass the youth due to use of drugs such as marijuana; they in turn proceed to display it in form of graffiti on the matatus. This is but one symbol of rebellion displayed on the walls and bodies of matatus.

In 2003, the matatu culture was nearly lost for good with the introduction of Michuki rules for public transportation. All matatus would be painted in a uniform color with a yellow strip running across the side of the matatu. A large part of the public was against this imposition, which would imply the loss of a whole section of Kenya’s urban culture. The matatu culture, however, beat the odds and persisted, even taking deeper root in the urban culture. This section of the culture has amassed a large number of fans and fanatics; some of them even refusing to board any form of public transportation that isn’t souped up. There are websites that have been dedicated to this culture alone, for example, the ‘Matwana’ Facebook page that follows the growth and development of the matatu culture in Kenya.

With road safety regulations being enforced in Kenya, casualties related to matatus have been significantly reduced. Hopefully, this will slowly ease the more skeptical part of the population into acceptance of this art form, making the matatu a nationally or even internationally accepted phenomenon. The matatu is undeniably an important part of the Kenyan culture that allows its subscribers a platform for expression, creativity, employment, and identity.

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