Matatu Culture in Nairobi By Edinah Bakora

                       

Kenyans waiting to board Matatu

Transportation in Kenya by road is very popular and the most used since it’s the most affordable to most local citizens. Passenger service vehicles are commonly known as matatus. Many residents in Nairobi city and everywhere in the country use matatus every day as their mode of transport, and most of them like using matatus with graffiti or as we say it locally, pimped up matatus.

The most popular graffiti artist in Nairobi is called Mohamed Ali who is the owner of Moha graphics enterprise. His company is the most known to the majority of the Matatu owners who want creative and attractive graffiti on their Matatu. We met with him and asked him a few questions about graffiti in the Matatu industry and here is what he had to say. “First I began my art on canvas when I was 24 years but I realized not many people will see my art therefore, I ventured into Matatu in 2004 and my first Matatu made my work go viral in a good way. It was called ganja farm.”                                       

The growing masses of suburban residents needed a way to get to and from work. Dilapidated pirate taxis in the form of Matatu arrived to fill this need. The Matatu is a tale of many stories, which cannot be pointed to a certain historical point, nor a contemporary moment. It is both the single story of its local community, and of its pre-occupiers. Its culture is ephemeral and timeless, belonging, and representing the exact moment in which it exists “If you want to venture in the Matatu Industry in Kenya, you must take it to graffiti designers so that you can attract many youths to board it so as to make more profit because this matatu takes few minutes to take you to your destination. But their fare is a little bit higher than normal matatus” Moha enlightened us. 

Mohas’ art is unique and creative in terms of texture, color, and design.

This work has brought a lot of sparks in his life therefore we asked him how this experience of being the best Matatu graffiti artist. “The experience is great, I cannot complain plus I give thanks to God because He made all these possible for me by his strength and God giving me the drive to work harder. The experience has also made me get exposed and meet big people like matatu owners who create more work opportunities for me.” 

Matatu graffiti culture in Kenya has developed since the 1990s due to good technology in the ICT sector like the availability of computers, hence easily accessible internet. This has helped artists like Moha who do their research on the internet. "When I began there were no computers or internet easily available like today where you look for designs or google on how to modify your own design and this makes the journey smoother for us. However, there are challenges like lack of support from the government, because one term they are supporting our work and the next term there is a different government with different rules who will maybe pass a law on all matatus not to have graffiti. Weather is also another challenge because sometimes you color a car and wait for it to dry and the sun is too hot so it over dries or it rains on the car, then you have to redo that work again which is costly and time-consuming. People plagiarizing (copying) your designs is also another challenge."

Many youths in Nairobi like using these matatus with graffiti because it is fashionable and they have funky decorations inside. Moha also told us when he was a youth he would wait at the stage for hours to board his favorite graffiti matatu, to feel the excitement and tell a story to his mates about the experience he had. He also paints small personal vehicles of people who like their cars pimped up a little and aside from Nairobi, he also works on matatus outside the city (Mombasa, Eldoret, Nakuru), or even outside Kenya, for example, Uganda and Tanzania. This industry has given Mohammed recognition and has also made him meet big people, going to new places and he has been privileged to venture into places where he never thought he would travel like Korea. In other words, his art of graffiti on matatus has opened so many doors for him.

Despite all these achievements Moha is a very humble man whose last words were, “I would advise the youths, and the young men I work within this industry and any upcoming artists, work hard in terms of creativity, pray hard and never give up because with God everything else flows well. And to those visitors planning to visit Kenya, enjoy our matatu culture where it is like a live museum, every day something new is coming up, changing, lively creativity that is worth to come, explore and experience it. If a big star like Trey Songs had to experience it and he was fascinated, then it is worth it for any new visitor to come and share the experience of our matatu culture with us." 

This industry has been invested in by the; Government, Private investors in the Matatu industry, and youths. We asked a young passenger why they like using matatus with graffiti and here is what one had to say; “I like using matatus with graffiti because it is hype and inside they have all these fancy music screens for entertainment. Yes, it is slightly more expensive in terms of fare but by just ten shillings which is worth it because as I get entertained by the music I also chat because these matatus also come with free Wi-Fi internet which is so worth it."

The passenger is a young man called Carks and comes from Komarocks, number 19c (an estate outskirt of the city) and he preferred matatu that has very nice graffiti, to the plain ones. As much as this matatu culture is loved by many youths, it is only frequent in the city and big towns, but in rural areas, folks are a bit reserved and are mostly concerned with transportation that will take them from point A to B. Plus these matatus with graffiti at times are driven very badly by these drivers due to the excitement of possessing a new motor vehicle. However, the government has strict laws of passenger service vehicles having a speed governor for control, thus making them safe. 

                             

                                   Karibu Kenya and experience our matatu culture.