Governor Sakaja
Nairobi Governor Johnson Sakaja has directed the county government to release all motorbikes that had been impounded and be given back to their owners.
In the Monday order, Sakaja instructed the City Inspectorate to identify official drop-off and pick-up spots within Nairobi where the owners will come for them.
The cases against the motorcyclists whose bikes were impounded will also be dropped immediately.
Most of the motorcycles were impounded following an incident in which a female motorist was sexually harassed by boda boda riders on Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi. The seizing order came from President Uhuru Kenyatta who directed a nationwide crackdown on rogue boda boda riders to streamline the sector.
The Nairobi Metropolitan Services (NMS) had agreed in July, after consulting with the Inspector General of Police, to release seized motorcycles.
The motorbikes were set to be released before the 9 August General Election but was extended according to NMS Director General Mohammed Badi, who admitted that city askaris harass motorcycle riders.
“Since I took over Nairobi I have worked closely with the boda boda associations. It is true that boda boda operators have been harassed by rogue enforcement officers,” Badi said.
Former Nairobi governor Anne Kananu had also in March this year directed the release of motorbikes after consulting with Bodaboda industry stakeholders. Kananu issued the order after consulting with boda boda drivers in an effort to streamline the market.
“I have issued an executive order to the city inspectorate to immediately release motorcycles whose owners are petty offenders who have legit papers for operating,” stated Kananu.
Sakaja had also promised to restore Nairobi City’s public image by replacing all the outdated county vehicles during the Kenya Kwanza campaigns in Nairobi’s Gikomba market.
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