•Bodaboda riders asked to visit police stations and have their bikes back but only with valid documents.
•They will still get arrested for flaunting traffic rules.
Image: CALISTUS LUCHETU
Bodaboda operators whose motorcycles are still being held in various police stations have been asked to visit the said stations with valid documents in order to have them back.
Speaking to the Star, Nairobi Traffic Commandant Joshua Omukata says they are not going to release the motorcycles to any other rider but only to those who show proof of ownership.
“We require to know who owns these bikes. There has to be a registration certificate in respect to that person, and there must be having all the other requirements that permit them to ride the bikes,” Omukata said.
This is after a section of bodaboda riders complained that they were required to part with a few coins before they are given their motorcycles.
The traffic commandant has, however, reiterated that they will continue arresting those operators flouting traffic rules.
“These people are still riding on the wrong side of the road, opposite the flow of traffic, and most of them are not putting on helmets, and still they are carrying two or more pillion passengers, which is wrong, in such circumstances they will still be arrested,” said Omukata.
On Wednesday, Deputy President William Ruto while on a campaign trail in Nairobi faulted the government for confiscating the motorbikes and imposing huge fines on them that he claims they cannot raise.
The national crackdown that was ordered by President Uhuru Kenyatta on March 8 was halted to allow the riders to adhere to the set requirements.
The registration fee was waived as well.
Police spokesperson Bruno Shioso said that they will not hesitate to arrest any bodaboda operator bribing police officers.
Shioso says that the riders also should not allow anyone to extort money from them and instead they should report them to IPOA or to Police Internal Affairs Unit so that action can be taken against them.