Nairobi boda bodas want protection from county askaris

Boda boda operators in Nairobi now want the national government to intervene and protect them from frequent harassment, extortion and brutality meted on them by county askaris.

Speaking at a press conference on Sunday, County Riders Welfare Association Chairman Ken Onyango appealed to the national government to intervene and protect them from the harassment which has continued despite an ongoing court case against the county which is set for mention on December 1, this year.

“Last year we presented a case in court to prevent this kind of harassment. Unfortunately, our case was thrown out this November but we appealed and our case is supposed to be mentioned on December 1, but the county enforcement officers are still harassing our members,” said Mr Onyango.

He said that they have been put under the mercy of a cartel of county officers who have been harassing them and demanding bribes from them since Nairobi County Governor Evans Kidero banned the operators from accessing the Central Business District earlier this year.

“Corruption has been on the rise since the governor issued the ban. As from now, we categorically say no more harassment from county officers operating without official uniforms and staff identifications,” said Mr Onyango.

Mr Onyango said that they have sought audience with Dr Kidero who promised to look into their plight but unfortunately their grievances have not been addressed.

“The response we received from the governor was that we present all registered Saccos to his office and that all our matters could be solved. Instead of these matters being solved, what happened is that the county officers started harassing our members using brutal ways,” said the chairman.

He added that they have been forced to incur losses resulting from their motorcycles being impounded and Sh3,000 per day. This, according to him, has made it difficult for members to service their loans considering that most motorbikes were purchased on loan.