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Article: Kenya's Lethal Minibuses; For Owners and Drivers, the Best Matatu Is the Most Illegal
- Article from:
- The Washington Post
- Article date:
- September 13, 1987
- Author:
CopyrightThis material is published under license from the Washington Post. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Washington Post. (Hide copyright information)
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The minibus, licensed for 22 passengers but carrying 40, was
listing to the left as it sputtered out of town, bound for a
dirt-floor suburb called Kawangware.
The left rear tire was bleeding air, the clutch needed work, the
brake lights were out. The road license on the windshield belonged
to a look-alike bus that at one time had passed inspection. Going
downhill, the driver had the pedal to the metal. But not to worry.
A sign at the front of the passengers' compartment said, "Keep
cool. Professional driver in control." Thus reassured, the
passengers were squeezed together like kippers in a can.
This kind of vehicle-overloaded and undermaintained, privately
owned and going too fast-is ...