The boda boda enterprise is rotten to the core. Criminals and riotous youths have taken such a stranglehold of the business, it will take years of ruthless law enforcement to instilL order.
In the past week, thousands of riders have been arrested and charged with all manner of offences. Some made up, some real.
Thousands of bikes have also been seized in the crackdown ordered in response to the dreadful humiliation of a woman motorist in Nairobi.
It is somewhat reassuring that President Uhuru Kenyatta called off the crackdown and told the police to concentrate on the culprits instead of the entire industry.
A large proportion of the bikes are on loans serviced weekly.
Banks and micro-finance lenders are owed billions. The crackdown burnt a gaping hole in the economy.
The losses in the food delivery businesses and the movement of passengers cannot be gainsaid.
The economy will take ages to shed off the effects of Covid-19 and it would have been unwise, reckless to hammer it some more.
Interior CS Fred Matiang'i should tell the police to release the seized bikes so those men and women can continue to fend for their families and get our supply chains churning.
The National Transport Authority can then coordinate with the other agencies to register and license riders and restore order in the sector rather than chasing the symptoms by driving innocent riders out of business.
