For Said Faiz Khamis, the night of September 15 was when he decided a motorcycle taxi was no longer worth his life.
The 29-year-old operator accepted a passenger in Maweni at about 11pm for Barsheba in Kisauni. Instead, the ride ended at a secluded spot where more than 10 men armed with machetes allegedly attacked him.
The men slashed his head and fingers. He escaped on foot, leaving his motorcycle behind after taking its key.
“I realised he had planted people there who attacked me with machetes,” Mr Khamis said. He had agreed to drop the passenger at a stage, but followed him after being told the destination was nearby.
Fellow riders later helped him recover the motorcycle at Kiembeni Police Station on September 17. The attack was his second violent encounter this year.
At about 3am earlier this year, youths riding bodabodas ambushed him while taking a passenger to Kongowea Market. They beat him and stole his motorcycle, phone and other belongings.
He raised money for another motorcycle and returned to work. This time, however, the deep wounds convinced him to quit.
Boda boda rider Said Faiz Khamis (centre), a victim of a Kisauni gang attack, nurses serious injuries after an attempted theft of his motorcycle in Mwandoni, Mombasa.
Photo credit: Kevin Odit | Nation Media Group
“My head has had deep cut wounds twice. I am not going back to this work. I have to look for another job. This is too risky, and I am lucky to be alive,” he said.
His experience has heightened anxiety over reports of night attacks in Kisauni, particularly among bodaboda operators.
Community policing leaders allege that some gangs use a deliberate lure-and-ambush tactic, targeting riders who accept passengers travelling to isolated places.
Maweni community policing chairman and bodaboda operator Samson Omondi said women were sometimes allegedly used as decoys. He claimed some would board motorcycles at stages, then delay payment through M-Pesa or make a phone call after reaching the destination, allowing accomplices to converge.
“Then around 10 boys wielding machetes emerge and attack you,” he said.
The tactic has made riders wary of late-night passengers, especially to isolated areas.
“We know all the criminals. We are ready to name them, but will the police arrest them?” he posed, calling for stronger community policing.
Human rights groups have also raised concerns. Centre for Litigation Trust executive director Julius Ogogoh urged security agencies to act against gangs, while Vocal Africa Coast Coordinator Wild Sketty said his organisation had documented at least eight people allegedly attacked and injured by machete-wielding gangs between 10pm and 6am in Kisauni within one week.
Centre for Litigation Trust executive director Julius Ogogoh.
Photo credit: File | Nation Media Group
Mr Sketty also claimed that at least five motorcycles disappear from Kisauni every week, with some allegedly transported to markets outside Mombasa, including Malindi.
Another victim, Chai Chivatsi, was reportedly attacked on September 16 while riding towards Sunlight with a passenger. Relatives said four men confronted him at Bakarani, assaulted him and seriously injured his head and legs. Some of his fingers were reportedly chopped off, and his motorcycle was stolen.
“What happened is heinous. We have witnessed four incidents in a week with motorcycles stolen. We want justice,” said his relative, Ali Kazungu.
Residents say the violence extends beyond the bodaboda trade. Kisauni resident Naila Abdallah said several people had been attacked and robbed in recent days.
Ziwa La Ngombe Ward Manager Omar Ali urged young people to reject crime and seek legitimate livelihoods.
Kisauni Deputy County Commissioner Jamleck Mbuba, however, said security agencies had arrested several suspects and were pursuing others. Enhanced patrols and security barazas, he said, were helping officers gather information.
“We will arrest those hiding. Just give us time, but please help with information to identify the criminals among you,” he said, urging residents to share information rather than confront suspected criminals.
Coast Regional Police Commander Ali Nuno at a past event.
For Mr Khamis, the security debate is personal. After four years in the bodaboda business, he says he would rather surrender his livelihood than risk another machete attack.
His painful decision captures the steep cost of insecurity: workers are forced to weigh a night’s income against not making it home safely alive.
