Don't treat us like criminals, Murang'a boda boda tell police

A section of boda boda riders in Murang’a county have asked the police to stop treating them as criminals.

The operators have said the society has acquired a negative perception towards them despite the fact that they are just normal people trying to make a living.

Richard Maingi, the secretary of Gaturi boda boda operators, said the community’s view of a youth changes drastically once they start operating a boda boda.

Even police officers, Maingi said, treat youths differently once they are spotted wearing reflectors that are a requirement for all boda boda operators.

While apologising on behalf of operators who assaulted a female motorist in Nairobi along Forest road last week, Maingi said save for a few individuals, the riders are good mannered. 

“We are brothers, sons and fathers and we respect our sisters and mothers. When some of us commit offences, there should not be blanket condemnation,” he said.

Many of them, he said, have lost their boda bodas after carrying criminals who turn against them in dark streets.

Maingi, who spoke at Gaturi during a boda boda operators’ training forum, also challenged insurance companies to consider giving them more time to pay for their insurance covers.

The Monday meeting was attended by NTSA and traffic police officers.

He said that most operators are from humble backgrounds and are unable to make enough money to make a one-off annual insurance payment.

But if the premiums were split, Maingi said, it would allow majority of them to pay for them without struggling.

“I am a family man with children in school and a wife to support. If you tell me to pay Sh4,000 in a day, I can’t raise it. But if you allow me to pay monthly then that would be affordable,” he said.

Apollo Kamau, a resident, said he approached local police officers for the training forum after realising that majority of the operators had grounded their motorcycles during the countrywide crackdown. 

He said many opted to keep off the roads because they did not have some of the requirements such as driving licenses and insurance covers.

Kamau further said he approached some local insurance firms which have agreed to allow the operators to pay premiums monthly.

“They will only be paying Sh400 per month for a period of 10 months," he said.

"I organised this forum to give them an opportunity to interact with police officers and NTSA officials to know what is required of them and to offer solutions where possible.” 

He however challenged them to observe discipline in order to clear up their name and report colleagues who engage in criminal activities.

The operators, he said, are a important part of the grassroots’ ecosystem as they are able to access areas that cannot be accessed by cars.

He appealed to the government to organise training forums instead of organising crackdowns, saying putting them out of work compromises security.

He also urged counties to consider upgrading feeder roads that he said are in a poor state and which drive up the cost of maintaining boda bodas.

“Dark streets should also be provided with floodlights to improve security,” he said.

NTSA officials who attended the forum said out of the 4,500 people who perished in road accidents in January, 1,200 were boda boda operators.

(edited by Amol Awuor)