Nostalgia: Before the boda boda, there was the scooter

You would think the endless buzz of boda bodas in Kenya has been our way of life since retired Mzee Moi called the shots. But nah.

The ubiquitous boda bodas came to life in the regime of retired President ‘Obako.’ It was his way of creating employment via slicing import duty on motorcycles.

They became affordable and just the reason you will spot them on every street corner and in every village and hamlet.

The problem with boda bodas is the notoriety their riders have acquired, resulting in many road accidents and fatalities.

But before the boda boda was the scooter.

They were smaller body versions of motorcycles and unlike the piki pikis, you didn’t have to ‘back kick’ to vroom a Vespa, Yamaha or Honda scooter to life.

They also have a step-through frame and legroom for the rider’s feet. Their engines are covered by a body shield. These low-power rides were mostly used as ‘shopping baskets’ and in moving around with their popularity hinged on ease of storage and parking.

Then there was another version of scooter which stood out for its capacity to be turned into bicycles when they ran out of fuel in the middle of what was then a double-lane Thika Road!