Boda boda riders in Elburgon want to work for 24 hours
A boda boda rider transports vegetables to a market. Boda boda riders in Elburgon Town have asked security officials to allow them to work for 24 hours a day. PHOTO | PHOTO | BENSON MOMANYI | NATION MEDIA GROUP
What you need to know:
- The riders said motorbikes are the only means of transport in the area.
- They accused the police of harassing and arresting them from as early as 9 pm.
- Area OCS promised to look into the matter.
Boda boda riders in Elburgon Town have asked security officials to allow them to work for 24 hours a day, saying motorbikes are the only means of transport in the rural town.
The riders, who are allowed to operate until 11pm, said residents will be stranded if the curfew is not relaxed.
Speaking during a security meeting involving political candidates, police officers and boda boda riders in Elburgon Town, youth leader Steven Njuguna said the curfew is not practical in the area.
“Most of the time boda bodas are used to ferry the sick to hospital. Workers at the Timsales Company who leave the factory at around midnight also depend on these motorbikes to get home,” he said.
According to John Gitonga, Chairman of the Boda boda Sacco in Elburgon, police harass them and even arrest them from as early as 9pm.
“One of us was arrested at the weekend and was granted a bond of Sh40000 which is too much for a boda boda rider,” he said.
Another boda boda rider said once arrested, police officers ask them to part with Sh5000 or risk being locked up.
However, Elburgon OCS Andrew Kivindyo said the curfew is intended to reduce cases of crime that have been on a steady rise in the area, but promised to look into the matter of harassment and unfair treatment by the police.
