https://peopledaily.digital/insights/on-matatu-art-culture-ntsa-has-not-asked-right-question
Literature, like a leaf bud, cannot be contained and bound within a structured context and co-text in a sentence, paragraph, a chapter or a volume. It will eventually overgrow and outgrow those imaginative boundaries, tearing the pages of artistic bondage. “Art is an evolutionary act. The shape of art and its role in society is constantly changing. At no point is art static. There are no rules,” so said Raymond Salvatore Harmon an American Artist who also dared the world to achieve the impossible by trying the absurd.
The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) does a noble job of assuring us that there is need to be civil on our roads. However, there are missteps that must be pointed out as they seem misplaced, unnecessary, not a priority and lacking locus standi.
The question NTSA needs to answer is who gets hurt by matatu graffiti?
I bet that NTSA cannot give a convincing response to this concern because as it stands, the opposite must be true. Who gets to benefit from matatu graffiti?
First, every corner of the world is defined by its mannerisms, culture, lifestyles, principles and norms. These are often reflected in through art and artistic expressions whether in drawings, culinary art, fashion, drawings and crafts. The Caribbean’s have their reggae, the Ethiopians have their pure white cotton attires, the Americans have their hip-hop and the Chinese have their unique architecture. It therefore behooves NTSA to consider that Kenyan urbanites have their own identity, the Matatu culture characterized by flashy and well-crafted graffiti. We are past the era of the matatu cabin vans popularly known as “face me booths.” We can’t go back.
The Matatu industry employs millions of people directly and indirectly and some of the direct beneficiaries are youthful artistic brush and spray maestros who eke a living by beautifying and pimping the matatus and buses in Kenya.
With high levels of unemployment in the country, it is therefore important that the ministry of labor and the federation of Kenyan Employers intervene to ensure that NTSA does not effect this ban. Tied to this, we must also think of the companies that manufacture the paints and materials for the paint jobs not also forgetting the distributors and retailers.
Since most of the artists are youthful, it’s also one way of keeping the Kenyan young population engaged and diverted from societal vices. One of the leading matatu beautifying expert, Moha Grafix once noted that he employs directly about 50 youth while also training others.
Graffiti is a way of expression and a unique talent. It is an art that cannot be plied by every other person and therefore must be accorded the respect and weight it deserves. We all celebrate the great work done by the legendary artistic, Michelangelo for his great work in the Sistene chapel and St. Peters Basilica in Rome which took years to accomplish. Indeed, Mint Serf, the graffiti art duo consisting of artists Mikhail Sokovikov (Mint) and Jason Aaron Wall (Serf) aptly observed that “if it takes more than five minutes, it is not graffiti.” Just like we awe at the beat of Rhumba for the consistence and efforts done to weave the notes together and for the Burundi drummers for their mastery of the African drumming, let’s also respect the graffiti artistes.
Matatu graffiti is a great avenue for tourism as it is unique in Africa and beyond. Some of my friends from the diaspora request me for a walking tour to the city center with one specific objective, sightseeing the magnificent minibuses. It clearly fills them with thrill and entertainment.
It’s puzzling why NTSA keeps on fumbling this issue of banning and lifting matatu graffiti. There was a ban in 2016 which was lifted again in 2020 and then in 2025, another ban. NTSA please make up your mind.
The best approach on the issue of the Matatu graffiti, NTSA needs to convene the key stakeholders, Matatu operators, the artists, traffic department and possibly UNESCO for a consultative forum on how to enhance the trade by supporting the positives while putting together measures for self-regulation in cases which might be deemed to be not in line with policy, legal and confines of societal and moral standards.
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