The Principal Secretary of Interior, Dr. Karanja Kibicho has announced that the government has set up a special unit to deal with the boda boda menace.
Speaking to Hot 96 on March 3, Kibicho said that cases of indiscipline amongst boda boda riders were getting out of hand.
“If we do not deal with it, it will get out of hand. Class war cannot be tolerated,” the PS said.
This announcement comes a month after the National Youth Service(NYS) announced that they would be training bodaboda riders on discipline and hygiene.
NYS Director-General Matilda Sakwa said they would be working with the Ministry of Interior and the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) to train bodaboda riders.
“You may know how to ride but lack the patience and discipline on the road. NYS has a program that will impact skills of resilience, hygiene and being cautious on the road,” Matilda said.
Cases of boda boda menace have been on the rise all over the country. Some riders ferry thugs on their high-speed snatch and run operations and this has led to a ban in certain areas like some residential areas.
In January 2020, a motorist recounted to the police how boda boda riders robbed him of Ksh500,000 in Nyali, Mombasa.
The motorist fell into the trap of settling an accident by paying the boda boda rider instead of reporting to the police as required by the law.
When he opened his bag to get the money, a boda boda rider grabbed the bag and took off. In another incident in November 2020, bodaboda riders were captured on video beating up a motorist.
According to statistics from NTSA, boda boda deaths are increasing on Kenyan roads. The data shows that 884 Kenyans lost their lives in 2020 due motor cycle accidents compared to the 597 Kenyans who lost their lives in 2019.
