Boda boda operators in Lamu on Friday raised concerns over increased cases of motorbike theft and murders in the region.
In Mokowe town, tens of boda boda operators have in the recent past been attacked and some killed by thieves.
The latest incident occurred on Thursday evening when a boda boda operator was robbed of his motorcycle at gunpoint.
“I was riding home after the day’s work at around 8.30pm when a man waved me down and since he seemed to be going my way, I stopped to pick him up, but he instead pointed a pistol at me and asked me to give him the keys or die. He then sped off in the opposite direction on my boda boda,” victim Mike Kiama said.
Four motorbikes have been stolen from operators in a similar style in the last one month.
Speaking in Mokowe town on Friday, the operators said they have been forced to operate only during the day and most of the close business as early as 4pm for fear of being attacked.
“The situation here in Mokowe and neighbouring areas is alarming. The robbers are getting bolder by the day. In each of these incidents, the robbers had guns. Let the police intervene fast,” Sultan Khamis, a boda boda operator in Mokowe, said.
The operators said the robbers always target those with new bikes.
“It’s obvious that whoever is robbing us loves new things. We suspect they work with other criminal gangs that sell motorbike spare parts or maybe they run a ring that resells the motorbikes after they are stolen from us,” Musa Adnan said.
They want police patrols in Mokowe and neighbouring towns to be increased.
