In August last year, a man who was driving his car narrowly escaped death by lynching after he hit a bodaboda rider, who was trying to overtake another vehicle, killing him on the spot at the risky Agnex diversion in Isiolo town.
Police officers rescued the motorist from irate riders who were baying for his blood.
A similar scuffle ensued in September last year when a woman, Habiba Ali Abdi, died after a motorbike she was riding on was involved in an accident near the Isiolo town market.
The rider, who was headed to Isiolo, was trying to overtake a lorry transporting milk and upon seeing an oncoming vehicle, he went back to his lane only for the lorry to ram into his motorbike, killing the woman. The rider sustained severe injuries.
Bodaboda riders in Isiolo, like in other parts of the country, are known for recklessness which continues to make it hard for police to ensure compliance to traffic rules. The riders largely operate under their own rules in totals disregard of the law.
“I am always cautious while driving in the town because I would not want to collide with the bodaboda guys. These guys are ruthless and the whole issue is tribal,” one of the drivers in the town says.
While officials have on several occasions blamed the riders for accidents in the town, the operators will rarely admit having made a mistake, and their only reaction is roughing up drivers involved in accidents or even torching their vehicles.
However, it is the recent happenings in Isiolo town where riders from different communities clashed for several days that have jolted the county government into action.
While cases of the riders in the town fighting each other along tribal and religious lines are not new, the recent killing of a rider for allegedly stealing motorbike spare parts laid bare how the infighting could escalate into an ethnic war and destabilise the county if not amicably solved.
Police reports indicate that Mr Abduba Osman was accosted by a group of men in Isiolo town and transported in a tuktuk to Kandebene along the Meru-Isiolo border where he was beaten up and set on fire.
After the killing, a group of bodaboda riders from the victim’s community unleashed terror on another group, accusing its members of being behind the killing.
Following the incident, the Isiolo County government has started registering the bodaboda riders in bid to bring sanity in the town and also prevent such chaos in future.
Isiolo Municipality Manager Osman Halakhe said motorbikes belonging to riders in Bulapesa, Burat, Wabera and Ngaremara wards will have permanent stickers of different colours in order to easily distinguish them from a distance.
“The colours will help in tracking of any rider accused of indiscipline or involvement in any crime so that there is sanity in the sector,” Mr Halakhe said after meeting chiefs and their assistants from the four wards and assistant county commissioners.
The registration will also guide in placement of riders who have no specific operating areas to reduce congestion in the town.
Isiolo Central Assistant County Commissioner Samuel Gichohi said the process will assist in fast reporting of incidents and tracking of those involved in crimes.
“The measures will make it hard for few individuals with ill motives to enter into the sector and will help to get rid of riders below 18 years so that they go back to school,” said Mr Gichohi.
The administrator warned parents against allowing their children into bodaboda business, saying those found culpable will be arrested and prosecuted.
Motorbikes in Bulapesa, Wabera, Burat and Ngaremara will have blue, green, yellow and red colours respectively.
Mr Halakhe said his board will Monday meet officials of various bodaboda stages before the registration kicks off on Tuesday.
Senior Chief Hassan Hokicha said chiefs and their assistants in the four wards have already commenced the mapping process ahead of the registration.
Among the proposals, according to Governor Mohamed Kuti, is allowing business people to operate from any point in the town to end zoning and ensure interaction and foster unity among all communities in the county.
In Meru, a similar registration exercise is set to be rolled out in what Governor Kiraitu Murungi says is a last ditch effort to tame the rogue bodaboda riders.
He further said his administration will spend Sh10 million this year to organise bodaboda riders into a county cooperative union that will be tasked with registration, regulation and economic empowerment of the operators.
“We need to learn from Rwanda where bodaboda operators have a giant association that ensures order in the sector. My administration will facilitate registration of societies from the ward level which will form a union that will help in the management of the sector. We want a union that will ensure traffic rules are adhered to,” Mr Kiraitu said.
A big number of the riders in the region are primary school dropouts who have not undergone the requisite training and do not have driving licenses.
Lack of proper regulation of the bodaboda sector has been blamed for what authorities say is rising number of riders involved in crimes such as drug and human trafficking in the county and across the northern region.
Some 12 bodaboda riders were on October 10, 2020 arrested at Biliqo in Merti Sub-County while reportedly ferrying 52 Ethiopian nationals to Isiolo town.
