Ban of boda boda in Nairobi’s CBD still in force, county government says

Boda boda riders waiting for passengers along Moi Avenue, Nairobi. FILE PHOTO

The boda boda ban in Nairobi’s central business district is still in force, the county government has said.

Speaking to Nairobi News on Friday, Director of operations at Nairobi City Inspectorate Department Peter Mbaya confirmed that the operation is still underway and that boda boda motorcycles are being impounded by the city as per the gazette notice issued on January 22.

“Boda boda operators are dodgy. It is very difficult to get all them, that’s why some are still on the roads. But our operation is still going on and we hope soon they will be off the roads,” Mr Mbaya said.

However, a spot check by the Nairobi News revealed that it is business as usual for the boda boda operators.

At the junction of Tom Mboya street and Latema road, along Moi Avenue next to the Bazaar and at the junction of Koinange street and Moktar Daddah street, boda boda operators, mostly in bright green reflector vests, congregate, waiting for people to ferry.

On most roads in the city centre motorcycles ferrying passengers, some not even wearing helmets wove through traffic. They are not visibly scared, but when City County vehicles pass by, they take cover, only to emerge from hiding once the coast is clear.

On Monday the county government banned boda bodas from the CBD.

The gazette notice says the only riders allowed in the CBD will be those providing courier services and those ferrying passengers should drop them off at Ngara and the City stadium.

It warned of hefty fines, arrest and long jail terms if they break the new rules. The ban was issued to help decongest the town as well as to curtail criminal activities.

Starehe Member of Parliament Charles Njagua under whose constituency the CBD falls sued the governor on Wednesday for issuing the directive without consulting him.

He explained that the ban was impeding the economic activities of the operators who rely on ferrying passengers to eke out a living.

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