Roman Oduor, a conductor, has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for pushing a passenger out of a moving matatu over Kshs10 balance.
According to court records, Oduor had refused to give Aziz Mahmoud, the deceased Kshs10 as the balance for the fare the passenger had paid.
The deceased had boarded the matatu travelling from Nairobi showground to alight at Makina stage.
The conductor was reportedly given Kshs100 and was expected to give back Kshs90 but instead returned Kshs 80 and refused to add the remainder.
An argument ensued between them that led to Oduor pushing Aziz out of the vehicle and falling to his death.
Witnesses who testified in the case narrated to the court how the matatu crew fled after committing the act, with a different team taking over the vehicle.
“The quarrel was between the conductor and the matatu on whether the fare was Sh10 or Sh20,” the witness testified.
Oduor was serving a death sentence and had been incarcerated for 22 years but after the Supreme Court declared the penal code unconstitutional, he appealed through his lawyer Steve Odumbe.
Matatu conductors are notorious for aggression, uncouth behaviour and being disrespectful to their customers.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i has put the unruly public transport sector on notice and vowed to bring an end to the lawlessness.
"We are dealing with a sector where people have actually decided to be the law themselves. This public transport sector has grown into some sort of a monster,” observed Matiang’i.
