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Police say boda boda riders carrying more than one passenger per trip will be closely targeted. [File, Standard]
Police in Nairobi have launched an operation targeting unruly boda boda riders in the city.
This comes on the back of new statistics indicating that boda boda riders are responsible for many accident-related deaths and injuries reported in the city.
Since January, 116 people have died in accidents in Nairobi, with 16 of these deaths involving boda boda riders, and eight recorded among pillion-passengers.
Eighty-nine (89) of the deaths have been registered among pedestrians, while three have been among cyclists, Nairobi Traffic Police Commandant Joshua Omukata said in a press conference on Thursday, February 10.
Thirty-two (32) people have, in the month of February alone, died in road accidents in Nairobi, while 91 have sustained varying degree injuries, Omukata said.
The city traffic police boss said most accidents reported in Nairobi are “avoidable”, and that a tamed boda boda sector would see the accident-related deaths and injuries drop significantly.
“If nothing [about the boda boda sector] is done, then we would lose many city dwellers by the time 2022 ends,” he said.
Omukata said the operation will target unruly boda boda riders and matatu operators in the city.
“These [rogue] public service vehicle operators must change their ways,” he said, adding: “Should they fail to comply, we will deal with them ruthlessly.”
Among those closely targeted are boda boda riders who carry more than one pillion-passenger each trip.
The city traffic police boss observed that most accidents reported within the central business district “are hardly fatal”.
“It’s rare to find speeding vehicles in the CBD because drivers hardly flout the speed limits due to congestion,” he said, revealing that the number of people killed in accidents in the CBD since the year began are five, while those injured are 15.
Moi Avenue, Ngong, Raila Odinga, Lang’ata, Mombasa, Outering, Thika and Valley roads are leading in cases of accident reports in Nairobi, according to police.
Overlapping PSVs, especially those plying Lang’ata and Ngong routes, will be targeted in the crackdown.
Omukata said, besides motorists, police will also target pedestrians who refuse to use footbridges while crossing the roads.
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