Passaris attacked by group of rowdy youth on bodabodas

Nairobi Woman Representative Esther Passaris was on Tuesday chased from Dagoretti by a group of rowdy youth on bodabodas.

The incident happened a few minutes after a civic education event in the area and her security team struggled to contain the riders.

Speaking to Ureport, the lawmaker stated that the men accosted her all the way to the CBD demanding handouts and threatened to break her car windows.

“It is so unfortunate that Kenyan youth are used to handouts from politicians. They demanded money from me and I stood ground that I would not give anything.

“The incident almost got out of hand because they were riding right next to my car, posing a threat to their own lives. I had to come out and make it clear that they would get nothing from me,” she said.

Passaris further added that she does not lay blame on them because most are unemployed and lack a decent source of living and the government has neglected them.

To curb this, she proposed mandatory military service for youths between 18-23 years to hone their life skills.

Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, whether as a chosen job or as a result of an involuntary draft 

Some of the countries that have made it compulsory include Cyprus, Burma, Brazil, Egypt, North Korea, Russia, Thailand, North Korea, Ukraine, Greece, Turkey, Norway, and Israel among others.

In Israel, it is mandatory for both women to enroll for military service. However, most countries require only men to serve in the military for a specified duration of time. The age of enrollment differs from one country to another.