There are 6,000 of them in Nairobi alone, all of them with limited insurance. They are Kenya's matatus, a rambunctious fleet of 24,000 privately owned minibuses driven mainly by young men barely past their teens. They troll for passengers along arbitrarily established routes, having long ago edged out public transport. They often are held up as an example of the sort of private enterprise Kenya needs to pick itself up after decades of mismanagement and corruption, much in the way Kenya itself was held aloft by some in colonial times as a model for other governments throughout Africa. But the industry, itself often cited for corruption, is now struggling with the federal government over new licensing regulations.
Lawmakers say they seek to finally get a handle on a business long out of control.
The cheap-fare, private buses have edged out the city's public buses. They face calls for new regulation. The matatu's occupants, at least those who can make out what he has said, agree with Mr. Kitonga. Matatu owners say the government should use tax money it already collects from them to repair Kenya's virtually impassable roads. We pay taxes on our license, we pay for every road-license inspection, we pay to register the vehicle.