Lawyer sues state over failure to curb boda boda lawlessness

Curious onlookers mill around the shell of a matatu that was set ablaze by boda boda operators after it hit a rider along Thika Super highway, Nairobi. [File, Standard]

Hours after matatu operators withdrew services on Monday over boda boda chaos, a petition was filed before the High Court challenging the State’s failure to regulate their operations.

The case, filed by Advocate Rogers Monda, is seeking urgent interim orders to curb the escalating boda boda crisis, citing alarming statistics that nearly half of all road fatalities in Kenya now involve motorcycles, which he says has led to widespread road carnage, mob violence, sexual assaults, and destruction of property across the country.

“There is a growing pattern of mob attacks, vehicle torching, and assaults, particularly against motorists involved in accidents with boda boda riders,” Monda told the court.

The lawyer is seeking court orders directing the National Police Service and the Inspector-General of Police Douglas Kanja to immediately activate and operationalise rapid-response deployment to road traffic incidents involving motorcycles especially in Nairobi county even as Matatus threaten weekly strikes.

"Pending the hearing of the case, the court issues orders directing the police to secure accident scenes; prevent mob violence, assaults, sexual violence and lynching; prevent destruction of property including arson; make immediate arrests of offenders; and preserve evidence, including video evidence from the public and CCTV where available," lawyer Monda seeks.

The petition names various state agencies and officials as respondents, including the Attorney-General, the National Police Service, the Inspector-General of Police, the National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA), the Cabinet Secretary for Transport, and the County Government of Nairobi.

He argues that their inaction violates constitutional rights including the right to life, dignity, security of the person, property, equality before the law, fair administrative action, and access to justice.

According to the petition, recent incidents document a disturbing trend of vehicle accidents, lynching, sexual assaults, arson, and the use of motorcycles in organised crime, assassinations, and even political violence, all linked to boda boda operations and accident-scene impunity.

“Official acknowledgements by State authorities admit the crisis, yet promised reforms have not been implemented,” the petition states.

The petition further contends that the threatened public service vehicle strike and withdrawal of transport services exacerbates the risk of public disorder, while the public continues to suffer irreparable harm in the absence of urgent conservatory measures.

Rather than seeking financial compensation, the petitioner is asking the High Court to compel systemic reforms in the regulation of boda bodas.

The petition proposes measures including mandatory rider identification, licensing and training, compulsory insurance, rapid police response protocols, and stronger regulatory enforcement.

It also cites examples from countries such as Rwanda, Uganda, Colombia, and Nigeria to demonstrate how similar regulatory frameworks have been successfully implemented.

“The petition does not invite the Court to manage transport policy, It seeks to enforce minimum constitutional standards and require the state to fulfill its positive obligation to protect life, property, and the rule of law,” Monda says.

The petition further calls on NTSA and the Nairobi County Government to immediately enforce licensing and competence checks for commercial riders, ensure helmet and reflector jacket compliance, verify number plates, regulate passenger limits, and enforce compulsory insurance.

Additionally, the petitioner requests that all respondents jointly file a time-bound emergency operational plan within 14 days, detailing how they will tackle boda boda-linked violence, accidents, and arson, including coordination measures, enforcement targets, and accountability points.

Among other measures, the petition also seeks the creation of a temporary Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for motorcycle-related accidents and mob violence in Nairobi County.

This, he says, would provide for an emergency dispatch channel, minimum response times, scene command structures, protection of motorists and victims, mandatory arrest and processing of offenders, and proper chain-of-custody for evidence.

The petitioner also demands an interim identification and accountability framework for commercial boda boda operations, requiring visible rider and motorcycle identification, and a progress report within 30 days.

Finally, the petition asks the Court to compel respondents to take all lawful steps to prevent intimidation of witnesses and victims, facilitate reporting and protection of complainants, and file a status report within 21 days detailing enforcement operations, arrests or prosecutions, accident-scene responses, and steps taken to prevent further public disorder.

“The ongoing, foreseeable, and recurrent pattern of accidents, mob assaults, sexual violence, lynching, and arson linked to boda boda operations presents an urgent public risk,” the petition notes.

“The threatened public service vehicle strike further escalates the risk of disorder and paralysis of transport.”

The petitioner argues that the public and himself stand to suffer irreparable harm without urgent intervention, while the respondents will suffer no prejudice by being directed to fulfill their constitutional and statutory mandates.

“It is in the public interest that interim protection and minimum enforcement measures issue pending full hearing,” the petition adds.

The petition is pending hearing.