Police now target ‘private matatus’

Police are using identification cards to net private cars carrying passengers, a move a city lawyer says infringes on the freedom of movement and association.

This, according to the traffic department, will expose private vehicles acting as public service vehicles (PSV).

If the IDs show no relationship with the driver, then, according to the police you are a passenger who has paid.  "You can easily tell if they (passengers) are members of the same family by asking for their IDs. From the documents, you can tell whether the travellers have been charged or not, especially if the car they are using is neither a PSV or a hired one," said Traffic Commandant Jacinta Muthoni yesterday.

Though Nairobi lawyer Martin Munyu, who handles civil and criminal cases agrees that it is illegal for private cars to go picking people along the way because these do not have the PSV licences, he is against the use of ID cards as means of determining whether one is a passenger or not. He says police have no reason to tell people to produce their IDs just because they are in a car.

But according to the police, the use of IDs is already bearing fruit. Yesterday, over 20 drivers found ferrying passengers in private vehicles were nabbed along various roads in Naivasha following a major crackdown by traffic police.

The early morning operation along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway and Mai Mahiu-Narok road left passengers stranded after the vehicles were towed to different police stations. Most of the vehicles detained were Probox, Toyota Wish and vans.

According to a junior traffic officer involved in the crackdown, they were using IDs from the passengers to know if they were relatives.
"In many of the cases, the passengers hailed from different ethnic background and this made our work easier," said the officer.

According to the officer, others also freely confessed that they were passengers and had paid. "We got into a situation where some drivers claimed they were ferrying their relatives but the IDs sold them out," said the officer.

But some drivers have accused police of harassment. One of them only identified as Wilberforce said he had every right to carry anyone he wished in his car.

The driver, who was arrested along the Narok-Mai Mahiu road, maintained that he had given a lift to some friends and relatives on his way to his rural home in Kisii, when he was arrested. The drivers were charged with carrying passengers for reward. "The officers were adamant that any person found in a van were passengers. This is very unfair," he said. He was arrested and released on a cash bail of Sh50,000 but promised to pursue the matter in court.

"If I give you a ride, then it does not mean I have broken any law. (An arrest on those grounds) can be challenged. It is unconstitutional as it infringes on the freedom of movement and the freedom of association," said Mr Munyu.

 FACE LAW

He added: "You cannot stop people from making friends when moving from point A to B... these are fundamental rights under the Constitution."

The Traffic Department has cautioned motorists who own private vehicles against using their vehicles to ferry passengers upcountry as PSVs. The Traffic commandant maintains that her department will continue its crackdown on such vehicles.

"It is against the law to turn private vehicles into PSVs. We shall impound such vehicles over the festive season and their owners will face the full force of the law. Only vehicles authorised to ferry passengers should do so," said Ms Muthoni.

"If you want to arrive home for the holidays without any inconvenience, avoid paying to board a privately owned car. It is for your own good," Muthoni emphasised.

Her words were echoed by Rift Valley Traffic boss Mary Omari, who while confirming the arrests on the highway, said the operation would continue across the region.

Speaking yesterday, Ms Omari termed the crackdown as successful, adding that it had been carried out simultaneously. "In Naivasha, they managed to arrest five private vans during the operation, which will continue during and after the festive season," she said.

Omari said it was illegal for the vans to ferry passengers and called on the public to keep off such vehicles.

Muthoni said officers from her department, in collaboration with those from the National Transport Safety Authority, would ensure the traffic rules are followed strictly to tame high road carnage during the festive season.