It began as a normal commute a trotro ride in the inner city of Kumasi. However, what was found in one of the minibuses made the Ghanaian social media go crazy.
The short video posted by the X (formerly Twitter) user @sikaofficial1 shows a CCTV camera which is silently installed in the public transport vehicle. The ten-second video featured the camera installed above the first row of the trotro, just looking at the entrance, and, far more importantly, dead-on the target the so-called mate, or driver, who takes the money and regiments the passengers.
In a nation where the trotros are characterized by its personality, disorder and culture, as demonstrated by a surveillance camera, it was an element that was common in a futuristic novel.
No Ordinary Trotro Experience
Trotros: Ghana is famed and infamous of its minibuses which are the mainstay of thousands of people that commute on a day to day basis. They are associated with cheapness, blaring gospel and banners such as No Smoking, No Insulting the Driver as opposed to high-tech refurbishment.
However, there are those trotro drivers who over the years have been known to customize their vehicles in a most unexpected manner: flat-screen televisions, ceiling fans, air conditioners and even charging ports. A CCTV camera, nevertheless? That is something new.
Random finds in a Ghanaian public transport vehicle (trotro). pic.twitter.com/0q5Ch0lady
— SIKAOFFICIAL🦍 (@SIKAOFFICIAL1) June 18, 2025
Numerous online users could not stop laughing – and talking.
One commenter, @reaalpee wrote: The driver no dey trust the mate be that ooh hmmm. 😂
Another one(@kofi_paha) also joined in by saying: “Why they have to switch the camera to the Mate side. 😂😂”
The paranoia was obvious: the camera was not only passenger friendly. It was the sight of the mate, a comic yet trenchant reference to the ancient conflict between drivers and their assistants as to the collection of fares and responsibility.
Customer Service or Chobo Prevention CCTV?
Although the driver in question has not come out to clarify the arrangement, numerous on-line gossips hold that the camera has been placed there to track the mate, so that he can not under-report the fare-collections, locally referred to as, chobo.
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Drivers in the unregulated trotro business usually have mates to manage money and provide the daily proceeds. But stories of mates pocketing an odd coin before handing in the total have been around a long time and are a well known cause of mistrust.
Of course, this driver can have chosen to go digital: the camera cannot lie and the mates will not admit.
Nonetheless, others were able to perceive the update as ambitious and progressive. This is high-tech Trotro. 🤣🤣, said @TheAtiila.
@FAgbodeka poetically defined the typical trotro journey; one forgotten slipper, a church flyer dated 2017, basket of boiled eggs and the destiny of a person.
Ghanaians Introduce the Comedy
Sure enough, Ghanaians missed the chance to demonstrate their characteristic humor. The comment section became some sort of comedy club where jokes and memes were coming in as fast as a trotro rushing through the Kejetia roads.
Sparrowskay said: This is indicating the mate direct .. Noo chobo. 🤣🤣ě astronomical diets
KaMa_Sly commented: “Drivers would not give mates opportunities to destroy Chobo any more. 🤣🤣🤣”
Others were asking what next. Will trotros in the future be equipped with finger print scanners, e-tickets, wifi in cars? It was a crazy idea, but it did not feel entirely out of place in a country where innovation sometimes can be found in the most unpredictable places, especially Ghanaian innovation.
It is not Just a Laughing Matter
In addition to the humour, the video represents a larger dynamics, the way technology is gradually integrating even in the most conservative aspects of our everyday life.
Ghanaians are embracing technology in every way, whether it is mobile money or QR codes to order waakye. Are trotros also entering the era of surveillance, efficiency and accountability?
Others on board cheered up the proposal. One Facebook user who reposted a thread wrote: If cameras can ensure that the mates will no longer shortchange passengers or fleece them then more of these cameras should be provided.
There were others who were concerned. Will we lose our privacy to these cameras? Who watches the videos? A user called Aba wrote What if it is misused?
The viral video has given more questions than answers at this point. However, there is one thing that is definite; trotros will be forever different.
Future of Trotro Travels?
As the expectations towards professional and comfortable transport increase, a small percentage of passengers also start demanding more out of their rides. Uniformed mates, pre-paid fares and now CCTV, is Ghana about to transform the informal transport system?
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With an increase in the number of private ride-sharing companies, competition is compelling traditional transport providers to redesign their model. Speed and price are gradually becoming secondary to safety, accountability and comfort.
In the meantime, the CCTV-equipped trotro is a lonely yet intriguing discovery of a small silent witness hanging directly behind the rearview mirror. It observes people get into the car, drivers yell destinations and the Kumasi traffic does what it has always done, chaotically flow.
However, its existence says it all.
To safeguard their fellow passengers, to ensure mates stay on the straight and narrow, or simply to bring a bit of comic relief to an internet audience, this small camera has reminded Ghanaians that innovation, and humor, is never too far out of reach on the highway.