• The chilling incident happened on Friday as the motorist was on her way towards Thika Road.
• She told police that a boda boda rider blocked her car and it was so abrupt she crashed into the motorbike.
Image: NPS
Police have arrested 16 boda boda riders captured on video molesting a woman motorist along Wangari Maathai road and seized five motorcycles.
Inspector General of Police Hillary Mutyambai said an operation to get more suspects is ongoing and urged members of the public who witnessed the incident to come forth and report to police.
"It will not be business as usual. We will hunt all those behind this and others," he said.
The chilling incident happened on Friday as the motorist was on her way towards Thika Road.
She recorded her statement on Monday at Parklands police station and narrated her story.
She told police that a boda boda rider blocked her car and it was so abrupt she crashed into the motorbike.
The rider fell to the ground and broke a leg, she told Pangani police yesterday.
She stopped a few metres from the scene, but was mobbed by a group of riders, some of whom tried to rob her.
She got alarmed and drove off. The riders chased after her for a few kilometres and blocked her car.
They then yanked open her car door and the woman screamed for help. One of the riders, all this while, was recording the happenings.
She lost money and other valuables in the melee. She was saved by traffic police who were alerted by other motorists who had witnessed the drama.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang'i said he was “shocked and disgusted” by the video clip.
“We must protect our roads from such vile and reprehensible acts of aggression. I have asked our security agents to ensure all perpetrators of this dastardly act are swiftly apprehended and suitably punished for their heinous act,” he said.
Energy Cabinet Secretary Monica Juma said all those involved must face the full force of the law.
“What a shame that no one could help or protect this young woman from this criminal attack in broad daylight. How did our society come to lose all humanity,” she posed.
Nairobi traffic boss Joshua Omukata said, “She has recorded her statement which is now the basis of our investigation into this heinous act. We will get all these goons behind this molestation.”
He said boda boda operators remain a threat to security.
“Ongoing reforms will probably bring sanity to this industry.”
Omukata said they have been receiving dozens of complaints against boda boda operators and warned them against taking the law into their own hands.
“In some incidents their actions have turned fatal and others have become thieves. Their days are numbered,” he said.
Omukata said police are reviewing CCTV footage of the road as part of efforts to identify those behind the harassment.
“If someone has hit you, don’t take the law into your hand to beat him or her. That is a police matter and the law will take its course,” he said.
Kenyans online captured the images of some of the people accused of the harassment and shared them widely asking that they be identified and punished.
The government plans to reform the boda boda industry in major changes.
Edited by A.N