Loopholes with the boda boda sector were exposed after a female motorist was assaulted along Forest Road in Nairobi on Friday, March 4.
Despite the sector employing thousands of youths, the government announced that it urgently needed to be streamlined as lawbreakers were camouflaging as riders.
President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a crackdown on the riders and also revised registration rules to curb rampant crime.
Among the new enforced measures included wavering of registration fees, re-registration with the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) and issuance of smart cards.
However, Kenya can learn more lessons from Rwanda which successfully enforced new guidelines that have seen their boda boda sector flourish.
President Paul Kagame's administration through the Ministry of Infrastructure first directed the operators to maintain the statutory requirements of operating commercial motorcycles.
This included having a valid operator’s license, wearing helmets and registering and insuring their motorbikes.
If caught without a helmet, a pillion passenger is charged and pays a penalty of Ksh1,100 (RWF 10000). A passenger's helmet also needs to be stamped with a unique identifying number, which is also printed on the driver’s jacket and bike.
This makes it easier for the police to track a rider and confirm registration.
Additionally, each motorcycle should be fitted with a GPS for tracking. Riders whose bikes lack the GPS locators are not allowed to operate on the roads.
Riders are also not allowed to carry more than two passengers, who are further barred from boarding a motorbike with a baby.
Unlike in Kenya, Boda Boda operators in Rwanda are no longer allowed to carry sofa sets and other bulky goods. Police officers are authorised to seize motorbikes of any offender who breaks this law.
Riders further have designated pickup locations and Rwandan citizens are encouraged to walk to the stations to take rides.
In Rwanda, disciplinary committees listen to cases and aid in taming serial offenders. The government also registered 18 Saccos, the only ones allowed to operate within the country. The cooperatives also coordinate with the traffic police to enforce discipline and law.
