Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i announced measures to restraint in boda boda, following an incident that startled Kenyans and sparked an online controversy.
Addressing actors in the transport industry in Nairobi yesterday, the CS indicated that, like matatu owners, boda bodas will receive training, gain licenses, and join saccos.
The government also waived the Sh5,800 fee for smart riders’ license and directed that all boda boda riders acquire licenses in the next two months.
The operators have 60 days from March 21, to register their motorcycles, form saccos and obtain smart licenses to remain in business.
The riders will also be asked to join Saccos in their different areas of operation, according to Matiang’i, and will be needed to provide documentation, including a police clearance certificate, which will be utilised in the screening process.
“This vetting will give room for riders to report the criminal elements among them so that we see an end to the embarrassment that they caused us the other day,” said Matiangi.
As a result, all Huduma centres across the country will register the riders. They will need to have certificates of good conduct and join a Sacco as part of the vetting process.
“If you do not have an identification document, all the concerned parties will be at the centres to enable you get it,” he said.
The CS said the most abused sector especially during this political season was the boda boda sector, adding that the country was in an unprecedented era of cheap populism.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Tuesday ordered a countrywide security crackdown aimed at weeding out rogue boda boda operators from the sector following the recent assault of a female motorist along Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi County.
Describing the incident as disheartening, the President said that he had on Monday evening instructed the country’s security apparatus to clamp down on rogue boda boda cyclists and ensure perpetrators of the heinous act are brought to book.
“Yesterday, I did give instructions and ordered a crackdown on all boda boda operators, starting here in Nairobi and moving across the country,” the President said.
