Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i has decided to help a boda boda rider who passed a heartfelt note to him at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) on Wednesday, March 9.
In an opinion published in a local daily on Sunday, March 13, Matiang'i explained that he was leaving the event when the boda boda rider, who is a university student, passed him the note detailing his tribulations.
He explained that he was an orphan and was depending on the income from boda boda rider to pay his university fees.
Initially, he had been under a sponsorship, all the way from High School, but his sponsor ran through financial headwinds in 2020 after the pandemic hit the country, wiping out people's livelihoods.
"He detailed his tribulations. He is an orphaned university student. A scholarship had seen him through high school and the beginner's years at university.
"But Covid-19 restrictions forced his sponsor's business to close down and he thus risked dropping out," Matiangi told Sunday Nation.
He noted that he took up the motorcycle business to supplement his education but has since been left with huge fee arrears, which weigh heavily on him.
"However, working as a hired boda boda rider, he has been able to save a little money to continue with his studies, through his fees arrears.
"His thirst for education waters his indomitable spirit, ride by ride. My family and I intend to do something about his situation," Matiang'i added.
In the article, the CS noted that the rider was among 2.4 million Kenyans who engaged in the trade to put food on the table.
The industry has since ballooned to raking in Ksh1.2 billion daily revenue from an average of 22 million trips across the country.
There was, however, an uproar from the riders and the public after the government launched a nationwide crackdown on boda boda operators following an incident in which a woman was attacked by rowdy riders along Prof Wangari Maathai road, formerly Forest Road in Nairobi.
A cross section of politicians also argued that it was unfair to condemn millions of operators land crash their only source of income because of a few elements tainting the image of boda boda riders.
As a result of the uproar, the government suspended the countrywide crackdown on Saturday, March 12, but Matiang'i insists that the sector must be streamlined moving forward.
For instance, all operators will be required to have a smart-driving license from a recognised driving school in the country, and undergo competency training..
