Kitengela residents were recently taken by surprise when the whole fleet of Rembo Shuttle grounded operations and organised a prayer and thanksgiving day.
Mohammed Kamwaro, the head pastor of Deliverance Church in Kitengela led the service. Rev Kamwaro prayed for the matatu crew and the entire fleet and cast out evil spirits said to be behind a spate of recent accidents.
“Of late, there have been strange things happening that are beyond our comprehension and that is why we sought divine intervention,” Stephen Okerio, the chairman of Rembo Sacco.
“We are also asking our crew to be more careful on the road.”
Some of the ‘strange things’ Okerio was talking about include two separate accidents, each involving two Rembo minibuses at roughly the same spot. The accidents happened around Shalom Hospital, which is near the Athi River/Mombasa Road Interchange. The area is known to be a notorious black spot.
Joseph Gioche, the manager of Rembo Sacco, who is also a pastor, claims that there are evil spirits lurking in that area.
“We specifically prayed to have that area cleansed and cast out those evil spirits. We are confident that from now on the power of the Holy Spirit will intervene and things will go back to normal,” he said.
Rembo is the preferred mode of transportation by Kitengela residents although lately they have endured competition from Wamasaa Sacco, which has introduced a large fleet of flashy matatus on the route, mostly targeting the young and young at heart.
According to Okerio, Rembo has a fleet of around 130 matatus and has employed more than 300 people. The Sacco now seeks to increase its operations to cover areas like Namanga and Kajiado.
