Deputy President William Ruto has told boda boda operators in Nairobi Area to go and pick their motorcycles which were confiscated by police during the crackdown.
Speaking in Nairobi on Wednesday, March 16, the DP told the operators who were in his campaign trail, that they should visit the police stations where their motorcycles are being held and take them back.
He pointed out that the police were used by the political class to oppress the boda boda sector and they should not have taken the motorcycles if they had not broken any laws.
The DP stated that the police should also refund the money they had collected from boda boda riders during the crackdown which was mounted last week following government orders.
"I have also said that all boda boda operators whose motorcycles were confiscated and they were charged unlawful fines should go to the police stations and collect their motorcycles and their money should also be refunded.
"Criminals are people who break the law. The ones who assaulted the woman at Forest Road are criminals and they should be arrested by police, charged and face the law. But they should not victimize boda boda operators," he added.
The DP opined that the boda boda operators had not broken any laws that warranted the treatment the government was putting them through. He also compared the sector with the Kemsa scandal, which remains unsolved.
"Criminals should face the law. Is it the boda boda operators who stole Kemsa money? They should leave the boda bodas alone and they should go after the real criminals. We will change this country," he stated.
The remarks are expected to draw a political debate as to the country's second most powerful individual issues statements that contradict the position of the state agencies.
The DP has maintained the stance that the government was opressing boda boda operators. The government announced that it had put an end to the crackdown.
The National Police Service (NPS), announced an end to the crackdown in a bid to pave way for an imminent overhaul of the entire sector which is being conducted by the multi-sectoral committee tasked with the exercise.
"The Government ordered a traffic operation targeting public service motorcycles commonly known as boda bodas to enforce compliance with the Traffic Act and instil order in the transport sub-sector," a statement by police spokesperson Bruno Shioso indicated.
"To effectively coordinate the implementation of the exercise with minimum disruptions to services offered by compliant Boda Boda operators, the Government has suspended the operation. This will allow the multisectoral committee coordinating it to develop a suitable implementation framework," he added.
