President orders crackdown on unruly riders amid rising fury

As the world marked the International Women’s Day yesterday, protesters people took to the streets in Nairobi to condemn the molestation of women by boda boda riders.

Their cries for justice, and speeches by senior government officials led by President Uhuru Kenyatta captured the nationwide anger triggered by the assault of a 32-year-old woman by a gang of motorcycle operators on the Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi.

The Head of State directed a crackdown on boda boda operators, saying the the case was only one of the many countrywide.

"Without a doubt that was a very disheartening thing to see, and it is only one of others that have occurred across this country. I have directed law enforcers to conduct a crackdown on boda boda operators in Nairobi and moving across the country," he said during the  International Women's Day celebrations at the Kabete School of Government.

While recognising genuine riders and the economic contribution from the sector, the President challenged the operators to smoke out the bad elements.

"Look for the rogue riders among yourselves and weed them out. I have instructed the law enforcement officers to use the instruments within the law to punish these perpetrators, and there should never be a repeat of what we saw. This is a blight on the entire Kenyan society," said the president.

"We applaud the many wonderful young people who ride these motorbikes and do great service to this country, including delivering people who ordinarily would have had to walk long distances to places where a matatu wouldn’t go and helping passengers with their luggage to get to their doorstep.”

Uhuru condemned unruliness among the riders, citing harassment of pedestrians, riding on pedestrian walkways and use of motorcycles to commit crimes.

“We want to work together with you, we want to help your business prosper. But you must also do your bit. These women are your clients, but how will they continue being your customers if you are going to disrespect them in this manner?” he said.

It has since been revealed that the woman seen being accosted in the viral video is a consultant of Zimbabwean nationality working under the World Food Programme under the United Nations.

According to police reports, she was driving from Limuru when she hit a pedestrian on Friday at about 5pm. In the 44-second clip, she is seen screaming for help as the crowd accosts her.

President Kenyatta also cautioned leaders to avoid politicising the crackdown on claims that "the government was targeting low-income business people."

"I know with this [directive], and because we are in the silly season of politics, there are some out there who will go out and start saying the government is harassing small-scale business people. There is nothing further from the truth. We want to see our young people succeed in their businesses and we have done so much to reduce bodaboda prices leading to increasing numbers," he said.

Fresh registration

Uhuru also directed relevant agencies to re-register boda boda riders across the country so as to weed out criminals.

The incident has seen the government bring in more regulations in the sector.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i yesterday announced that a special task force will be formed under the Ministry of Transport to streamline the sector.

“The time has come for nothing short of a very ruthless, radical reorganisation in the boda boda sector because we will no longer tolerate boda boda riders’ impunity. We want those in the operators to carry on with business but they must work with us to remove the criminals out of the sector,” he said during a protest by the International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA-Kenya) and other activists.

In the planned registration under Bodaboda Integrated Management System, the operators will be required to have two unique registration numbers for the rider and the motorcycle.

The system is expected to map out specific routes the riders will be allowed to ply in Nairobi.

Meanwhile, the acting Nairobi Police Commander James Mugera has banned all commercial riders from the Central Business District from today until the registration is done.

About 913 riders have been arrested and 229 motorcycles impounded in the ongoing police operations in Nairobi. Yesterday, more than 200 boda boda riders were fined Sh35,000 each for obstruction and riding on pavements. Those who denied the charges were given Sh40,000 bond.

The National Crime Research Centre released a report last year that listed murder, kidnapping and abduction, theft, possession and usage of drugs, sexual assault and robbery with violence among the crimes committed by boda boda operators.

Robberies top the list followed by accidents and lynchings. Laxity by the police and other law enforcement agencies was found to contribute to rising criminality.

The report concluded that while the motorcycles have transformed the transport industry due to their convenience, they are a ticking time bomb because they were introduced without a proper legal and policy framework.