Ruiru: Boda boda operators join hands to buy land and build homes

Despite the negative reputation a section of boda boda operators have gained due to crime and traffic accidents, they say they are determined to improve their lives.

By making daily savings of Sh 50, the boda boda operators have been able to buy a five-acre piece of land which they intend to develop by putting up houses.

Under the umbrella of Ruiru Boda Boda Association, the riders, with a membership of 200 operators, have been leaving nothing to chance to pursue the property-ownership dream. 
According to their chairman Lawrence Kariuki, the riders started saving a few years before Covid-19 hit the country, a culture that has kept them financially disciplined. 
Kariuki noted that the operators had been saving in a Sacco but withdrew during the electioneering period to join a housing co-operative which later lent them money to facilitate purchase of the land. 
Speaking when a title deed was handed to the group on Thursday, Kariuki called on the public to stop branding them as criminals and support their economic growth to enable them achieve their life goals.