Traffic on a road in Burkina Faso /SCREENGRAB/KEBASO/XLawyer-turned-activist Morara Kebaso has expressed astonishment at the smooth flow of traffic in Burkina Faso, despite the complete absence of police officers on the roads.
In a video shared on his X account, Kebaso documented his experience at a red-light intersection where vehicles on his lane came to a stop, not under any enforcement, but out of sheer respect for traffic rules.
“Ona, hii ni traffic stop, hapa ni Bukina Faso and without a traffic ofisa, kila mtu anasimama na ana obey traffic,” he remarked, visibly impressed.
(Look, this is a traffic stop here in Burkina Faso, and without a traffic officer, everyone is stopping and obeying traffic rules)
“Nobody is manning this road,” he continued, “but everybody has decided to follow the law.”
He then posed a blunt question to viewers back home: “What’s our problem?”
Kebaso said since arriving in Burkina Faso, he hadn't encountered a single police officer either directing traffic or patrolling the streets, a stark contrast to Kenya, where police presence on the roads is a daily feature.
“You would think a country being led by the army would have army officers all over the streets,” he said. “I have not met even one.”
What struck him most was that civic discipline extended well into the night.
Motorcyclists were stopping at red lights, keeping to their designated lanes, and patiently waiting for the green light — even when no vehicles were ahead of them.
“We don’t even have cars in the front,” he narrated, “but people are waiting — even motorbikes — and it’s at night.”
Kebaso’s video drew varied reactions from Kenyans online.
One user applauded the message, commenting, “I like it. The problem we have in Kenya is that no one wants to be held liable or responsible. No one wants to be part of the solution so long as there’s someone to blame. That’s my country, Kenya.”
Another offered a divergent view, arguing that discipline on Kenyan roads isn’t as rare as portrayed: “That happens in Kenya all the time... don’t make Kenya look bad to propel your point.”
A third called the experience simply an “eye-opener.”
But not all were impressed.
One user chided Kebaso for filming while in traffic: “You are there flouting traffic rules by operating a mobile phone.”
The conversation sparked by Kebaso’s observations put into the spotlight what shapes public behaviour — the presence of authority or internal discipline.
