Mutatu madness

Blog from June 16, 2010.

There is a form of public transport here in Nairobi that intrigues me.  The Mutatu is a questionable means of getting around the city quickly, but not safely.  For 20 shillings (less than 15 cents) a person puts him/herself in the hands (and seatbeltless seat or isle) of a driver who is bent on getting as many people as quickly as possible from one point to the next so he can take the money and get on to the next set of paying customers.  Today during rush hour I saw one packed so tightly with people they had difficulty closing the door. 


The owners express themselves by naming their vehicles.  Here are some names I saw just today in about 40 minutes of walking.  Passion, Tormenta, Frakas, Gracious, Guiltiness, Jesus Saves, Baby Boy, Rine, Miles, Dust, Apex, Jebazu, Savor, One Love, Twitter, Bleak, Soul Food and Latifah.

Two people work the Mutatu--a driver and a seller of seats.  The seller frequently hangs out of the doorway or sits in a window and solicits business.  He holds up two fingers to indicate he can fit two more people in the van. Mind you, that doesn't mean there are seats available.  He solicits passengers in Ki Swahili so I cannot understand, but the message is clear.  "We are going to ____ point for only 20 shillings, come on!"   There is always a rushed air about them as they won't make money if they take too long at any one stop.  People sometimes have only a second or so to step up into the van before it careens off to the next point.  They are frequently in fender bender accidents as traffic laws are ignored.  I think the horn is used more frequently than the brake.


Mutatus are known to be hotbeds for pickpockets.  We at SIM are discouraged from using them.  I have not found it necessary to do so yet.  95% of the time I can walk to the place I need to be within 20 minutes.  We shall see. 

I do not have enough bandwidth to upload photos. Sorry.  I'll do that when the internet is less restricted.