Orange Democratic Movement (ODM) party leader Raila Odinga has broken his silence in the ongoing nationwide crackdown on all boda boda operators following an incident in which a Zimbabwean diplomat was assaulted in Nairobi.
Raila called for an end to boda boda riders’ ‘harassment’, saying only rogue ones should be dealt with.
Speaking at the Maua stadium in Meru County during a fundraiser for various women groups yesterday, Raila cautioned against the victimisation of all boda boda operators due to the misdeeds of a few bad apples.
“There was an incidence in Nairobi where a woman was attacked by boda boda operators and we must all condemn such but let not all riders (in the sector) pay for the crime of others,” he said.
“Whoever did that should face the law. It should not be a blanket condemnation of the entire sector. Police should not harass all riders for a sin of others,” Raila added.
According to the opposition leader, the police service should focus its energy and resources towards finding the actual perpetrators of the assault as well as other crimes, but allow the innocent ones continue with their operations.
This comes after President Uhuru Kenyatta ordered a nationwide crackdown on boda boda operators after a Zimbabwean diplomat was attacked by a group of people on Forest Road after she accidentally hit a boda boda rider.
A female motorist was on Friday accosted and sexually assaulted by boda boda riders after an accident on Wangari Maathai Road; an incident that was captured in a now viral video.
The incident caused massive public uproar, with Kenyans taking to social media to call for the streamlining of the boda boda sector over what they termed as lawlessness and operating with impunity.
On Wednesday, a Milimani Court detained sixteen riders until yesterday pending determination of a petition by the prosecution to detain them for fifteen days to conclude investigations.
The sixteen are expected to be charged with the sexual assault of a female motorist on Wangari Maathai Road on March 4.
Police want more time to review CCTV footage at the section of the road to help with the compilation of evidence against the accused persons.
Among those charged are James Mutinda, Samuel Wafula, Charles Omondi, Japheth Bosire, Hassan Farah, Wanjiku Lincon and Harrison Maina.
Milimani Principal Magistrate Robert Shikwe said he needed more time to make his ruling on the prayers sought by the prosecution to detain the suspects for 20 days.
On Tuesday, over 100 motorcycle operators were arraigned at the Milimani Law Courts and charged with riding causing obstruction.
They all pleaded guilty to the offence before senior principal magistrate Esther Kimilu and pleaded for leniency in sentencing.
They were fined between Sh30,000 and Sh35,000 each or serve four months in jail.
The Directorate of Criminal Investigations said on Tuesday that he had managed to forensically identify the mastermind in the assault incident and traced him to his hideout in Nairobi’s Mukuru Kaiyaba slums.
“However, the suspect who is aware of the ongoing crackdown on errant boda boda riders escaped our dragnet by a whisker, via a sewer duct in the densely populated settlement,” said DCI.
He gave the name of the suspect as Zacharia Nyaora Obadia, and advised him to surrender at DCI headquarters or the nearest police station within 24 hours.
