CS Matiang'i announces 'painful' crackdown on boda boda riders

Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i has announced an immediate crackdown to curb rogue behaviour in the boda boda sector.

This follows an incident that occurred on Friday last week where a female motorist was sexually assaulted by boda boda riders after she was involved in an accident on Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi.

CS Matiang’i said the operation would be ‘painful’ but is necessary in order to restore sanity back to the sector charactrised by notoriety.

He said 239 boda boda riders among them the main perpetrators of the Friday incident, had been arrested within the last 24 hours and are undergoing fresh vetting. Those found to have criminal records are set to be arraigned.

“The operation will be painful. We are prepared for that pain. The Inspector-General of Police has begun re-vetting all these operators. That is why he has collected 239 of them already. Those with criminal records will be handed to the law. Please understand and work with the law,” said the Interior CS.

The CS was addressing members of the Federation of Women Lawyers in Kenya (FIDA) who staged a peaceful procession on Tuesdsay to condemn violence against women and girls in public and private places.

The women held the procession from Green Park terminus on Haile Sellasie Highway to the Office of the Inspector General of Police.

Dr. Matiang’i was accompanied by Cabinet Secretaries James Macharia (Transport), Joe Mucheru (ICT), PS Karanja Kibicho and Police IG Hilary Mutyambai among other government officials.

Transport CS James Macharia decried the notorious behaviour in the boda boda sector, saying ‘enough is enough’ and that such behaviour would no longer be tolerated.

“What happened last Friday is not acceptable by any standards. These people were behaving like beasts… like they are not human at all. We reiterate that time has come and we shall make sure that before long, this madness has come to an end,” said CS Macharia.

He added: When I watched that video, I said this could be my 26-year-old daughter, sister or someone's mother.”

The transport CS said new reforms that had been earlier established would be immediately rolled out to contain the chaos in the boda boda sector.

“We had started developing reforms. These reforms will be very tough. Some years ago, we gave tax concessions so that boda bodas can become cheap and so that people can support themselves but that generosity has been abused. That generosity has been abused because now thugs are using boda bodas. Time has come to say enough is enough,” he said.