•There are at least 1000 boda bodas that are being held by the inspectorate department.
• “For sanity to be restored in Nairobi, all boda boda riders have to be registered through Saccos to enable the County Government weed out rogue riders,"
Image: SHEILA WANJIKU
Boda boda operators in Nairobi will be issued with unique biometric identification numbers as City Hall seeks to end the sector's menace in the city.
The boda boda operators will also be registered at the subcounty level as part of the new orders issued by Governor Ann Kananu.
Once the boda bodas are registered, City Hall will issue them with County stickers to identify them from other counties.
Speaking on Thursday after holding a consultative meeting with boda boda operators at City Hall, Kananu called for order and sanity to be restored in the county by riders, especially in the Central Business District.
“For sanity to be restored in Nairobi, all boda boda riders have to be registered through Saccos to enable the County Government weed out rogue riders," she said.
“My administration will immediately form a committee to hold further discussions with the boda boda representatives to ensure that there is continued talks, compliance and orderliness in Nairobi City.”
The meeting was called by the county boss after she issued a seven-day ultimatum to boda boda representatives in Nairobi to reach our over their rogue behavior.
This followed a video that went viral of a female motorist being attacked and sexually harassed out of her vehicle by boda boda operators along Wangari Maathai road in Parklands.
Boda boda Association of Kenya chairperson Kevin Mbadi noted that they are updating their system to ensure all riders are registered and to have their data included in the stickers that will be issued by Saccos.
He pointed out that the stickers will have codes to enable the County Enforcement Department and Police identify genuine riders.
“We are currently registering 200 riders daily and we are requesting the Governor for more time to comply with all the regulations,” Mbadi said.
Governor Kananu further ordered for unconditional release of impounded motorbikes with petty offences.
She directed the county’s Inspectorate Department to hand over the impounded motorbikes to the rightful owners once they produce ownership documents.
There are at least 1000 boda bodas that are being held by the inspectorate department.
“The detained motorbikes that were confiscated on minor offences will be released to the logbook owners subject to provision of relevant documentation,” Kananu added.
She also assured the boda boda operators that they will not be harassed by the inspectorate officers as long as they abide to all traffic rules and City bylaws.
“I believe in empowerment of the youth and I would also like each Sacco to identify representatives who will be trained by the County on disaster management so that we can use our boda boda operators during emergency cases on our roads.”
The Governor called upon boda boda leaders in each sub-county to hold frequent briefs with Sub-County Administrators to identify issues in the sector and mitigate them.
Deputy Director Operations, Enforcement Department, William Kangogo said City Hall had issued a public notice in 2014 on demarcated boundaries for boda boda riders, but they have not been complying.
He called on their Saccos to emphasise to their members on the need to follow law and order in the CBD.
Edited by B. Oruta