A viral video of four touts scrambling for a passenger, to an extent of manhandling her at a matatu terminus sparked a debate online.
Three touts can be seen running towards the passenger, dressed in a maroon-white dress.
Two of them, who seemingly work together, carried her to their matatu as the other followed closely behind, asking her to decline to board the PSV.
Other passengers who were at the terminus were dismayed and took steps back to watch the incident unfold from a distance.
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Discussions online centred around the safety of commuters whose freedom and privacy to an extent are infringed by the touts and parking boys in a rush to have them board their PSVs.
Some noticed that at times, passengers lose property in the melee as some of those masquerading as parking boys tend to be pickpockets.
Others recalled stories narrating how cart-pushers disappear with bags and other goodies as unwary travellers are sandwiched between touts.
“Here comes an offence that never attracts the eyes of the police, prosecutor or the Judiciary,” Ole Naipota tweeted on Tuesday, March 1. The tweet garnered 652 retweets, 106 quote tweets and 1,192 likes.
“This is unacceptable. It must stop,” James Murathimi added.
Others tagged the National Police Service (NPS) and the Matatu Owners Association (MOA) and the chairman Jimal Ibrahim demanding they act on the touts and Sacco.
“Isn't that a little harsh ..... physical touch yes...it should even be in the ethic code of the Saccos and one should be able to report to the Sacco if the conductors or drivers act in an unprofessional manner,” Masinde Tunya proposed.
Kenyans.co.ke sought to establish the intrigues behind the video and noted that it was a script done by a comedian known as Helena Senge. The video was posted on his Facebook page on February 25.
The video got nearly 182 comments, most of them in the Kalenjin dialect. The actor portrays himself as a woman in all his skits. Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, Senge explained the script and skit which sparked uproar online.
"We acted the show with conductors at the terminus. They are my avid fans and they demanded to feature in my video once they spotted me walking around.
“I hurriedly came up with the script to show how passengers are frustrated at bus terminals,” he explained.
