Rising cases of road accidents linked to motorcycle taxis (kabaza) have overwhelmed the Lilongwe Institute of Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery (Lion), draining scarce health resources and exposing weak enforcement of road safety regulations.
Lion medical director Dr Boston Munthali said kabaza crashes account for between 50 and 70 percent of patients treated at the specialised facility, part of Kamuzu Central Hospital, pushing admissions beyond 200 percent of bed capacity.
Speaking in Lilongwe on Monday during the launch of Kabaza Day, he said the trauma burden has stalled plans to expand specialist services as doctors and resources are diverted to emergency care.
“These patients often arrive with multiple fractures and serious complications,” said Munthali. “If treatment was properly costed, managing a single injury can exceed K3 million. Yet our wards are constantly full, and the pressure on limited resources is enormous.”
He said kabaza crash victims stay in hospital about 15 percent longer than other patients due to injury severity, further stretching a system with few orthopaedic and neurosurgical specialists.
Said Munthali: “As a specialised hospital, we have plans to expand services such as hip and knee replacement surgeries.
“But we cannot implement them because doctors are constantly responding to kabaza emergencies. We are stuck managing preventable trauma.”
He described the situation as a public health failure rooted in poor enforcement of road safety measures, calling for mandatory training, licensing and stricter regulation of kabaza operators.
Minister of State Alfred Gangata, who presided over the event, acknowledged the role kabaza operators play in providing affordable transport, but said safety must not be compromised.
“While accidents may occur, many are preventable. Government expects operators to work with regulators so that safety is guaranteed as they earn their livelihoods,” he said.
Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services director Christopher Kuyera said the directorate is working with the Malawi Coalition of Kabaza Associations (Macokasa) and the Road Safety Alert Foundation to improve registration, traceability and access to safety training.
Official data point to a widening enforcement gap. By August 2025, only 12 000 motorcycles had been registered against an estimated two million kabaza operators nationwide, despite a December deadline set by authorities.
Registration fees stand at K56 000 for motorcycles between zero and 100cc and K77 000 for those between 101cc and 250cc, costs regulators say are necessary to fund safety oversight and enforcement.
Macokasa chairperson Moses Mwalabu said the association marked Kabaza Day by donating food and assorted items worth K5 million to 130 patients admitted at Lion Hospital and announced the event will be commemorated annually on December 22.
