Matatu conductors in Kenya are known for their wild and uncouth behaviour as they engage with passengers along busy streets in the country.
Their sheer display of lawlessness largely define the public perception around the matatu industry. But truth be told. Not all matatu touts are rogue. Some of these conductors have set themselves apart as staff who care about the welfare of their customers. As such, helping reshape the narrative and the image of the PSV industry.
In the case of Jobson Motari Sibota, a conductor of Metro Trans Sacco Limited, he set a good example for his peers by returning Ksh200,000 to a passenger who had left the cash in an envelope.
The passenger, Doreen Nyamuzi, had boarded the matatu from town to Kabiria and unknowingly left an envelope with Ksh200,000 in the vehicle. The funds were to pay her mother's hospital bill.
After alighting at Kabiria, she discovered that she did not have the envelope that had the cash. Frantically pacing, Doreen resorted to wait for the matatu, desperately hoping that she would spot the vehicle.
Fortunately for her, the conductor went for another trip to Kabiria and spotted Doreen at the stage. After inquiring about the envelope, Doreen was ecstatic to see the tout hand her the envelope with the 200K; not even a shilling was missing.
Doreen took to her Facebook page to laud the actions by the conductor.
"..congratulations conductor Sibota vehicle fleet 388, let the company promote this man very genuine," Nyamuzi stated.
The kind gesture was also lauded by the Sacco management which urged other touts to follow suit.
"Very humble, trustworthy, decent, kind, hardworking and a staunch Christian. We applaud him for his character," read part of the statement from the Sacco.
The company also offered him a token and allocated him a permanent fleet to work with.
The 35-year-old tout hails from Nyacheki in Kisii county. The father of two also holds a Diploma in Information Technology (IT) from the Technical University of Kenya (TUK). In the past two years, he has been working for Metro Trans EA and set himself as one of the hailed conductors in the industry.
The kind act resembles a similar incident whereby a matatu driver returned Ksh20,000 and a laptop belonging to a university student.
The student, Ian Gitau, had spent the better part of that day trying to trace the matatu which he managed to spot because of its uniqueness. After being directed to the Sacco offices, they found the conductor who handed them the bag containing the laptop and the cash.
