The County Government of Nairobi has asked bodaboda riders to collect motorcycles that had been seized during the national crackdown but under one condition.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke on Thursday, March 17,City Hall Director of Communications Jacob Elkanah stated that the riders will have to prove ownership of the motorcycles and identification cards.
They will also be required to produce relevant court documents that show why the bikes were seized and court documents.
"They should present documents that identify them as the owners of the motorbikes and those that indicate why they had been confiscated from them with immediate effect," he noted.
The decision comes after Nairobi County Government officials led by Governor Ann Kananu met with leaders of bodaboda groups from the city at City Hall.
Elkanah added that the members of the County Assembly would meet to deliberate and revise the existing by-laws. He also confirmed that the riders will have to undergo biometric registration.
"The registration will have the riders name, national identification number, blood group, details of the immediate contact person and the area in which they operate," he noted.
While addressing the media at City Hall, Kananu stated that the riders will now wear different-colored reflectors to represent the different sub-counties. This, she explained, would help identify them should any of them be engaged in unruly activities.
In addition, she reiterated the directive by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i that the riders should enroll into SACCOs. Kananu stated that through the cooperatives, the county will be able to chip in and help the bodaboda industry players.
The new directive comes a day after Deputy President William Ruto instructed riders to collect their seized bikes as well as fines they paid from police stations. He claimed that innocent riders should not be made to pay for the undoing of rogue operators.
"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," Ruto declared.
The majority of the motorbikes were confiscated during a national crackdown on the operators following the assault of a female diplomat on Forest Road that resulted in a public uproar.
