Malawi Coalition of Kabaza Associations (Macokasa) and Malawi Police Service have teamed up to bring sanity among motorcycle taxi operators (kabaza) to curb accidents and fatalities.
Similar initiatives by agencies such as Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services have previously flopped due to political interference purportedly to avoid “losing votes”, but this time around Minister of Homeland Security Peter Mukhito has said the exercise has the full backing of the government.
Yesterday morning, kabaza operators and passengers in parts of Blantyre, Lilongwe and Mzuzu woke up to the sight of Makocasa members wearing reflector vests and police officers at ad hoc traffic stops.
In Blantyre, the checkpoint was at Clock Tower, targeting Masauko Chipembere Highway and Magalasi Road where overloaded motorcycles and riders without helmets were cornered.
Intercepted riders were ordered to pay a K10 000 fine to the police.
The Nation observed that most kabaza operators had crash helmets for themselves and their passengers while a few exceeded capacity.
Northern Region Police spokesperson Cecilia Mfune said the crackdown on motorcycle taxi operators is ongoing to enforce road traffic regulations.
In Blantyre, Macokasa regional hairperson for the South Mussa Magombo said at least 150 riders have been intercepted and fined since the operation started last week.
Macokasa national chairperson Moses Mwalabu said the enforcement exercise will extend to Zomba City and Mangochi Municipality followed by other districts nationwide.
He said future phases of the operation will include checks on registration with Road Traffic, insurance and riders’ licences.
“We believe that this gradual enforcement will ensure compliance rather than targeting all issues such as registration and insurance at the same time,” said Mwalabu.
Between March and June 2025, there was a compliance window to register kabaza operators, but only 12 000 out of the projected two million had registered as of July, prompting extension of the window to December 2025.
The kabaza operators were paying K56 000 for zero to 100 CC motorcycles while those with engines between 101 CC and 250 CC, paid K77 000.
Mwalabu said following the closure of the compliance window, operators are now required to pay old registration fees hovering around K200 000.
He said the association has written the Ministry of Finance, Economic Planning and Decentralisation to consider reducing the fees.
Reacting to the enforcement, James Labeka, a kabaza operator on the Masauko Chipembere Highway route, said sometimes they become careless and endanger the safety of passengers and other road users.
Another motorcyclist, Moffat Phiri, who operates at Biwi Triangle in Lilongwe, said the enforcement was long overdue as authorities had issued warnings for a long time.
Fyton Dodi, a motorcycle operator at Bwandilo in Area 47, said he has witnessed Road Traffic officials stopping kabaza operators and confiscating their bikes for breaking the law, including failure to wear a crash helmet and if their motor bike is not registered.
However, Dodi said he did not find any problem with this because following such regulations means safeguarding lives of both the operators and the passengers of kabaza.
Said Dodi: “Just look at the case of wearing crash helmets, the biggest beneficiaries are us and our passengers, I wouldn’t object to the call for motor bike operators to be following regulations.”
Another operator who refused to give his name said that the authorities should not be too rigid with the enforcement of regulations since they don’t make enough to comply with the regulations.
The enforcement comes on the back of a meeting last week involving Road Traffic, police and Macokasa where Mukhito directed the formation of a task force to enforce regulations, improve rider training and enhance public safety nationwide.
In an interview yesterday, Mukhito said the enforcement has full support of his ministry as it aims to address road safety challenges associated with kabaza.
“We know kabaza is the operators’ means of livelihood, but we want to ensure that the riders are protected and our roads are safer,” he said.
Mukhito, a former Inspector General of Police, further said engaging Makocasa rather than focusing on pushing the operators off the roads will ensure that the enforcement is sustained.
“We initiated the engagement so I don’t think someone from the political side will interfere,” he said.
Meanwhile, Road Safety Alert Foundation executive director Joel Jere has commended the enforcement, stating that lack of action in the past had led to chaos on the roads.
“The greenlight from the government shows that politicians are also concerned about the number of people affected by kabaza accidents,” he said.
Between 2022 and 2025, road-traffic authorities have linked 979 deaths and more than 2 000 serious injuries to motorcycle crashes.
Malawi Police data indicate that a total of 814 road accidents involving kabaza were recorded in 2025, claiming 162 lives and causing 652 injuries. The figure is higher than the 727 accidents recorded in 2024, which claimed 146 lives and left 581 people injured.
Statistics from Lilongwe Institute of Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery indicate that the hospital treats more than 2 000 motorcycle-accident patients annually and performs roughly 300 surgeries a month, with each bone fracture costing K5 million.
