Private bikers invaded Muthaiga Estate on Saturday, October 10, to protest a decision barring them from using a stretch linking Limuru road to the Thika Superhighway.
Taking to the streets, the riders made sure their voices were heard through their powerful engines.
The distinct rumbling sounds of all kinds of bikes from Harleys to Ducatti's cut across the serene neighbourhood associated with Kenya's wealthiest.
"Is Muthaiga not in Kenya? When was the constitutional right to freedom of movement withdrawn form us? We protest the harassment of Motorcyclists by Police at the Muthaiga roundabout," reads an excerpt from the biker's statement.
Over the last month, the police have been stationed at the roundabout exit next to Muthaiga Post Office (Limuru Road), from where any trucks, pick-ups, matatus and motorcycles are denied access to the public road.
The riders claimed they have been constantly harassed by the police whenever they try to use the road.
The local police station claimed that rising incidences of boda boda riders snatching purses and committing other crimes in the leafy suburb warranted their intervention.
Kenya's wealthiest individuals as well as leaders are known residents of the area. From former President Mwai Kibaki, to renowned businessman Wanjigi as well as former Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero.
The riders maintained that they had the right to use the road like any other Kenyan, adding that classifying all bikers as thieves due to isolated incidents of theft was unfair.
In their statement directed at Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai, the bikers cited the first constitutional and human rights point is freedom of movement. "As far as we know, the roads in Muthaiga are public roads. And Article 39 of the Constitution says, “Every person has the right to freedom of movement.”
The law demands that a genuine reason is given for such a ban, and an Act of Parliament directing the closure of the road enacted.
This new limit on entry into Muthaiga was allegedly introduced without warning, and has created a wide range of inconvenience to residents some of whom boda boda deliveries have been vital during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Watch the biker's protest below:
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