The High Court has awarded a female passenger Sh420,000 after she was assaulted, robbed, and violently thrown out of a Super Metro matatu by the driver and conductor. The case, which has drawn attention to the rights of passengers in public transport, saw Milimani High Court Judge Lawrence Mugambi rule that Wairimu Muthoni's fundamental rights were violated by the actions of the matatu crew.
In the landmark Judgement, Justice Mugambi ordered for compensation of Wairimu by the director of Super Metro Sacco and the owner of the matatu Ezekiel Njuguna Ngure after finding that she had been subjected to physical assault, theft of her personal property and humiliation while aboard the matatu on August 7, 2018. The assault and robbery occurred after Muthoni attempted to alight from the matatu when she realized the bus was headed in the wrong direction, and a dispute over her fare ensued. "I find that the conduct of the matatu crew was reckless and appalling," Judge Mugambi said in his ruling. "The Director of Supreme Metro Sacco and Mr Ngure must bear the responsibility for this violation of Muthoni's rights, and I hereby order that she be compensated for the harm done to her." The details of the incident revealed a harrowing sequence of events. Muthoni had boarded the Super Metro matatu, registration number KCH 434T, with Sh 80,000 in cash that she intended to deposit at a nearby Sacco. However, the matatu changed its route unexpectedly, heading towards Thika Road instead of Westlands, where she had intended to alight. "I gave the conductor Sh 1000, but he refused to give me my change," Muthoni recounted in her affidavit. "When I asked him to stop the vehicle, he refused, and that's when the altercation began.
The driver eventually stopped the bus, and both the conductor and the driver forced me out.
I fell outside and hurt my leg on the metal door.
