Kabaza kills 1 700 people, injures 1 860

Deemed cheaper  to conventional transport modes, motorcycle taxis also known as kabaza have become new angels of death after killing 1 738 people and injuring 1 868 others in four years.

This is based on a Nation on Sunday’s analysis of the Malawi Police Service statistics from 2019 to 2022.

The statistics show that in 2019  the kabazas were involved in 830 accidents resulting  in  625 deaths and 484 injuries.

In 2020, there were 860 fatalities and 580 injured people from 1 488 accidents.

The police in 2021 recorded 144 deaths and 124 injuries from 978 accidents involving motorcycle taxis.

Last year, 109 people died while 680 others were injured in 912 registered motorcycle accidents.

In comparison to motor car accidents in the same period, there have been years when the kabaza accidents killed more people.

This is despite motorists still killing more people in the four-year period under review.

For instance, the number of people that died from car accidents in 2019 was  528 while in 2020 it was 570. In 2021, 1 444 people died from road accidents involving motorists while 1 529 died in 2022. This brings the total number of deaths by car accidents to 4 071.

Having sent many people to an early grave, the perception that kabaza taxis are quick modes of transport, especially in hard-to reach rural and urban setups, is waning, especially among victims

Janet Mzumara, a resident of Nancholi Township in Blantyre, who was injured in a motorcycle taxi accident along Victoria Avenue soon on June 10 2022, no longer covets kabaza.

On the fateful day, Mzumara had booked a kabaza from Nancholi Service Station to take her to one of the commercial banks in the central business district (CBD).

“That was around 10am and I wanted to get to town fast since I also wanted to meet a colleague after making the deposit. To me, the kabaza was faster than boarding a minibus.

“After all, in most of my town errands I could get a kabaza. So, I saw no problem hiring one,” she told Nation on Sunday on Thursday.

According to Mzumara, who owns a saloon in Blantyre CBD, she started off with the motorcycle taxi as any other ordinary day.

However, when they approached Mudi River Bridge, the motorcycle taxi driver tried to overtake a car.

In the prcess, he saw an oncoming car, swerved to the right and both fell off.

Unfortunately, the rider quickly picked up his motorcycle and started off, and Mzumara never saw him again.

She said: “While onlookers tried to help me up, I realised I had sustained a broken leg and fortunately, a vehicle stopped by and rushed me to Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital.”

Mzumara is among several people that in recent years have sustained serious injuries from motorcycle taxi accidents.

Charles Zingani of Lilongwe’s Area 25 lost his young brother, Golden, 23, in a kabaza accident in September 2021; hence he discourages people from using such “dangerous modes of transport”.

“Both my brother and the kabaza driver died and to date, it remains one of the painful memories for the family,” he said.

According to Zingani, his brother was pronounced dead upon arrival at Kamuzu Central Hospital after sustaining head injuries.

The kabaza rider wanted to overtake a car but was hit from behind by another motorist  who was also overtaking.

Just like other motorists, motorcycle taxis are expected to abide by provisions of the Road Traffic Act (1997) and Road Traffic Regulations (2000) to promote both their own safety and that of other road users.

Through the Acts, the motorcycles are supposed to be registered and if they are to be used for business, they must have a red number plate on a white background.

But, according to our observations, the kabaza are flouting the law. Worse still, motorcycle taxi operators freely operate without being taken to task by traffic police officers despite not adhering to this requirement as provided by the Act.

Road safety specialist Kondwani Godwins Nyirenda said in a written response last week that there is need for greater regulation and enforcement of traffic laws, especially motorcycle taxis.

He said this would also require concerted efforts from the government, civil society and other stakeholders to ensure that everyone on the road is safe.

Nyirenda said: “There is need for great political will to stop this vice, as many times it has been politicised by allowing these motorcyclists to continue operating illegally for political mileage and popularity by the government.”

But he asked the Directorate of Road Traffic and Safety Services to offer kabaza riders road safety training to impart basic road traffic rules and regulations.

Road safety consultant Chifwede Hara also agreed with Nyirenda that most kabaza taxi operators only know how to switch on the motorcycles and change gears but have no idea of the basic road rules.

One of the requirements of the motorcycle taxi operators according to the Road Traffic Act (1997) and Road Traffic Regulations (2000) is the need to have a valid certificate of fitness (CoF), a driver’s licence and if the motorcycle is for business, the operators must further have a professional driving licence.

Further, all motorcycle taxi operators are required to have crash helmets for their safety. But this is not the situation.

National Police spokesperson Peter Kalaya on Friday said the service is doing its best through enforcement of road traffic rules and regulations as provided in the Road Traffic Act.

He said this includes ensuring that the kabaza operators have driving licences and crash helmets for two people.

“On their presence in CBDs [centre business district], we are working hand in hand with city councils to have clear by-laws and agree on modalities on how we can help enforce them,” Kalaya said.

On August 15 2022 after touring the Orthopaedic Department at Kamuzu Central Hospital in Lilongwe, President Lazarus Chakwera said there is need for Malawi to start regulating motorcycle taxis as a means of reducing road accidents.

He said this against the background of 75 percent of cases at the department resulting from  road accidents involving motorcycle taxis.

DRTSS once described the kabaza scenario as an “unfolding crisis”, claiming it was working with stakeholders to solve the problem.

A Nation on Sunday investigation in 2021 showed that one of the country’s biggest referrals, Kamuzu Central Hospital was daily registering more cases of kabaza-related accidents.

There are over 17 984 registered kabazas with many operating illegally.

Most of these have since penetrated residential areas where they find it easy to attract customers.