The Nairobi county security department has formed a multi-agency team to deal with boda bodas in the city centre.
City Hall has partnered with police to enforce the ban that requires the riders to operate outside the CBD.
In the last few weeks, however, boda boda riders have made their way back downtown.
They had complained that the county government failed to give them alternative stations. But the county government maintains that they have to comply.
Director of operations Eva Nyabuto told the Star the riders have no station near the CBD but are only allowed to pass through designated areas.
“Uhuru Park, where the majority are now, has not been designated. It is a park that is supposed to be used by the members of the public — not a place for picking and dropping passengers,” she said.
“They know very well the designated areas. Without stopping, they are supposed to pass through Uhuru Highway, Haile Selassie Avenue, Kamukunji police station, and then through Riverside via Kirinyaga Road then go all the way to University Way.”
The riders accuse the police and county askaris of demanding bribes of at least Sh5,000 to free them whenever they are caught in the city centre.
Starehe subcounty police commander Stanley Atavachi on Thursday dismissed the claims. “The police do not receive any extra money from them. All I’m aware of is that if the rider violates the law, he is arrested and taken to court,” he said.
On April 17, police had to fire bullets to disperse a rowdy crowd that descended on them after a crackdown on rogue boda boda riders in the CBD went wrong.
In a video that has gone viral, two officers trying to arrest one rider failed in their mission after hundreds of people shouted at them, forcing the officers to shoot in the air to disperse the crowd.
Boda boda Association of Kenya chairman Kevin Mubadi told the Star armed police officers and plainclothes county askaris have been taking advantage of the ban.
“There is a lot of corruption in the county government. Why are they being arrested by those who are not in uniform in the first place? Most of them are armed, hence placing their lives in danger once they resist arrest,” Mubadi said.
He said they have mapped places along Kirinyaga Road where the riders would be stationed. He warned against harassment and intimidation, saying some riders have been forced out of business.
“They have lost jobs. What they used to earn is not what they are earning now. The majority of them have gone back to their rural homes while others have ventured into criminal activities to make ends meet,” the chairman said.
For a motorbike to be released from City Hall or a police station, one has to pay a fine of up to Sh30,000, and those taken to court pay up to Sh50,000, he added.
“Most of these riders are still in cells because they cannot afford to pay such a huge amount.”
Mubadi cautioned the county government against imitating Rwanda.
“There is no way you would expect these riders to fly. The county administration is trying to imitate Rwanda, but it should instead try and restore order in the CBD. If they want us to pay taxes, we will.”
Rider Johnson Kamau from Kawangware said he would rather be arrested in the CBD than be in Uhuru Park.
“I decided to come here because this is where you find many customers, not Uhuru Park. You will hardly find people there. My family highly depends on me. I have to take the risk,” he said.
(Edited by R.Wamochie)
