Youths carving a niche in assisting travelers in Machakos Airport

Mashaku. Masaku. Machakos. Machakos Airport. These are parody terms for one Machakos Country Bus terminus along Nairobi’s Landhies Road, variances pointing at the backgrounds and motivations of the scores of people using this facility.

Started in the 1930s, this sprawling bus terminus has continued to be a popular start and end of journeys of millions of travelers to and from the western and southern parts of Kenya for eons. For that entirety, guides, a stark feature and consequence of this terminus have remained uncelebrated. 

Closely associated with Machakos Country Bus terminus is a swarm of youthful guides standing at strategic points around the bus terminus wooing travelers for direction and assistance with their luggage. Camouflaged by the scores of pedestrians and traders at this section of the city, these youths naturally congregate along the wall enclosing Muthurwa market to the south or even shading under the foot bridge spanning the entrances to Muthurwa and Wakulima markets. Yet, a number would choose positioning themselves on either end of the zebra crossing perforating the point where Haile Selasie Avenue empties into the roundabout overlooking the Salvation Army Central Corps.

“These spots are strategic in that they enable us to spot travelers coming to the bus terminus,” offered the soft-spoken Amos Wepukhulu, 30, when I enquired about the motivation for the particular points of congregation.  Wepukhulu is amongst youths numbering around 20 in his understanding assisting travelers with travelling logistics ranging from boarding the right buses. “Note that we are distinct from the conventional manamba,” he quickly added, in a matter of fact manner, justifying the apparent compos mentis in these guides that contrasted the demeanor exhibited by ordinary touts.  

“Every day, we assist travelers who are not aware of the right buses to board to their various destinations. Take the case of a traveler who is going to Kakamega but does not know what buses go there. Here, we guide her appropriately. In addition, we go ahead and match travelers’ preferences such as time of travel and seat position with the tens of buses available at the terminus in any one point.  Unlike touts, we work from the point of the traveler and seldom seek to satisfy the interest of the buses,” offered Wepukhulu, sentiments that are confirmed through nodding by two more guides, Tim and Gregory Osoro, who softly find their places around Wepukhulu.

Besides, assisting travelers from the upcountry who have difficulties identifying the right destinations in the city or the right matatu to the various estates is part of what the guides undertake. Travelers from the countryside are fond of bringing with them amorphous luggage including chicken, sugar cane and sacks of ground mealie and even groundnuts. 

Before I could establish their source of sustenance, Wepukhulu drifted naturally to explaining the suitability of the team of guides. Each of the members comes from each of the main destinations of the buses, he offered. According to him knowing these destinations by heart and even knowing the various buses is an asset for the group. “Osoro here, for instance, handles all traffic going to South Rift, especially Kisii and Nyamira lands,” offered Wepukhulu, facing the direction of the now grinning Osoro. 

But what values keep these youths together? 

“We are all married. With my exception, all the rest have over four children. You see, we recognize this as a source of livelihood and this explains why we do everything necessary to satisfy the travelers,” Wepukhulu said, before owning that allowances come from the buses themselves. “Depending on the number of travelers one books to the bus company, he secures some allowance that in sometimes such as Christmas and Easter holidays accumulates to 5,000 shillings a day.”

  

Surveying the travelers reveals that the utility of the guides often goes unnoticed. Travelers oftentimes associate this group of youths soliciting for their assistance with booking buses with criminal elements. “Yes, I often ignore these guides since they are not distinguishable from the pickpockets associated with this side of town,” offered Maureen Akoth, 45, a regular traveler to Kisumu. She could not listen to the assertion that the guides could be genuine youths seeking their livelihoods by assisting travelers. 

Wepukhulu admitted the existence of such mistrust. That the area around the bus terminus is prone to criminality, to him was undeniable.  To go round the issue, the guides try to distinguish themselves from the possible criminals by dressing decently. They also refrain from any attempts of soliciting for any forms of monies from the travelers. This is besides attempting to address the travelers in their assumed home dialects at the initial stages of establishing a connection. He shrugged his shoulders when I sought to know how they were able to identify the native language of stranger. 

What is the way forward? To go through the challenges they face, Wepukhulu underlined the resolve to become unionizable. This, together with registration with the appropriate authorities, will see the group of guides secure of their continuous existence in the city. Attempts to improve on the public image of the guides will begin with an emphasis on tidiness and uniformity, he confided. 

Meanwhile, there is every reason for travelers to find the youthful guides trustworthy. For it is certain that many travelers to western and southern parts of Kenya will keep using Machakos Country Bus terminus.