When motorcycles aka boba boda were introduced onto Kenyan roads, they changed the crime scene in Kenya.
The riders were allowed into business in 2009 when the then Finance Minister Amos Kimunya zero-rated tax for motorcycles below 250cc.
Suddenly, all shopping centers were inundated with the two-wheel contraptions. They not only earned their riders a living but revolutionized the public transport sector, offering cheaper and faster alternatives to matatus.
Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti says that most boda boda riders are in the watch list for crimes in most part of the country.
Mr.Kinoti says that if you go to the borders of the country, they are used for surveillance by criminals, sneaking in arms and for getaways. In urban areas they are used in trafficking drugs and contraband. They are a danger at large
He said detectives have profiled one individual who owns 250 boda bodas in Nairobi that are involved in distributing drugs in the city.They use the riders to deliver the drugs to the comfort of the consumers
Apart from drugs, the riders have also been major contributors to accidents in the country. Police say they have taken over major towns— blocking roads to all other traffic, dislodging pedestrians from footpaths and generary creating a racket with their loud hooting.
Whenever one rider is arrested by the police for any offence, fellow riders gang up to demand his or her release. Police say the riders’ numbers can be overwhelming, so much so that every time a boda boda operator is involved in an accident, fellow riders gang against the other party.
“They usually join hands in harassing the other party involved in an accident. We have had incidents where they even killed three motorists in the city,” said Nairobi police boss Joseph Ole Tito.
The riders have been linked to various crimes in the city. On Sunday, six suspected gangsters riding boda bodas were killed by police in Dandora, Nairobi. They are said to have raped a woman in Lucky Summer area before escaping.
I have been a victim of this atrocious behavior by the boda boda association from hell. I have had 2 encountered that were not very pleasant in that one instance i was coming from an evening service in Buru Buru estate and it was around 7 pm in the evening.
People were casually walking home some selling maize on the road but unfortunately i was a victim of circumstance whereby i was casually walking home minding my own business when abruptly a boda boda carrying 2 extra people apart from the driver jumped out from the boda boda and demanded money and valuables from me while they were holding knives and guns.
I immediately surrendered my valuables not wanting to prompt any violence. In a fraction of a second they got what they came for and left. What shocked me is that there were no people passing by at that particular moment of the robbery which surprised me.
Based on the incidents, the government has advised a crackdown on boda boda riders in major towns, accusing them of thriving in lawlessness and resisting all attempts to tame them. “The sector is evolving into a potent force that could spin out of control if left unchecked,” said Kinoti.
Why bodabodas are now number three in threat to national security: From murder to drugs, riders have been implicated in nearly every crime in the country. https://t.co/Z5vGlvrLMD
— Breaking News (@News_Kenya) October 29, 2018