Nairobi governor, Johnson Sakaja, has issued his first executive order that will allow all the motorbikes impounded by the previous county government released and given back to their owners.
Sakaja, on Monday, August 29, ordered all motorbikes impounded by the county government released to the owners and all cases regarding them withdrawn with immediate effect.
The governor also asked the City Inspectorate unit to also identify official drop-off and pick-up points for boda boda riders within the Central Business District (CBD).
Hundreds of motorbikes were impounded after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a countrywide crackdown on rogue boda boda riders to streamline the sector following an incident where a female motorist was sexually harassed by riders along Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi.
After the motorbikes were impounded, the Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) boss, Gen Mohamed Badi, promised to release them after consultation with the Inspector General of Police, Hillary Mutyambai.
Badi, during a meeting with boda boda riders in Nairobi, stated that the motorbikes would be released before the August 9 General Election, admitting that city askaris were harassing the riders.
“Since I took over Nairobi, I have worked closely with the boda boda associations. It is true that boda boda operators have been harassed by rogue enforcement officers," Badi stated on July 26.
In March this year, Interior Cabinet Secretary, Fred Matiang'i, ordered the release of motorcycles that were being held at police stations across the country. However, the CS asked the riders to join organized groups to protect genuine boda boda riders from suffering.
The move came after the boda boda riders cried foul that they were experiencing challenges in getting back their motorcycles that had been seized.
Further, the immediate former Nairobi governor, Anne Kananu, also ordered the release of motorbikes after holding a consultative meeting with stakeholders in the boda boda sector. The meeting culminated into an executive order to release the impounded motorcycles.
“I have issued an executive order to the City Inspectorate to immediately release motorcycles whose owners are petty offenders and who have legit papers for operating,” Kananu ordered.
During the Kenya Kwanza campaigns in Nairobi's Gikomba market, Sakaja also promised to remove all the old and unworthy county vehicles and replace with new ones to reclaim the status of the city.
