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Sonko promises Nairobi boda boda operators a new operation zone

By Amina Wako March 18th, 2019 2 min read

Nairobi Governor Mike Sonko has promised to relocate boda boda operators to a new operation area which is in close proximity to the city’s Central Business district.

Sonko made the pledge while addressing the operators on Saturday night when he visited the scene of an accident along Mombasa road at the junction of the General motor.

For the last few months, the operators have been barred from conducting business within the city’s CBD, but according to Sonko a designated spot is now under construction at Nairobi Railways bus station.

In a video posted on his official Facebook account, Sonko is heard asking the boda boda operators if they are still being harassed by city county askaris.

HARASSMENT

“Harassment ya Kanjo (Are you still being harassed by the county askaris)?” Sonko asks, to which one boda boda operator responds, “Hiyo imeisha… hiyo at least ulifanya vizuri… lakini bado tunafukuzwa CBD (That is no longer the case. You did well to end the harassment, but we are still being barred from accessing the CBD).”

“Hatuwezi wa piga CBD na pia Uhuru Highway, tutawatengenezea shade kubwa hapo Railways (We can’t bar your operations within the CBD and all other places. We are constructing a big shade for your near Railways),” Sonko replies.

In November 2018, a 12-member task force on policy, legal and administrative reforms regarding public motorcycle transport were formed.

HIDE AND SEEK

The task force was formed following prolonged efforts by the Nairobi County authorities to restore order within the city.

But these efforts have only resulted in a game of hide and seek between the boda boda operators and the Nairobi County askaris.

The operators will be required to be compliant with the new laws from May 1, 2019 following the government’s extension of the boda-boda reforms by four months.

The boda boda operators will also be expected to get training, licenses, and protective gear in a bid to reduce the carnage on Kenyan roads.