Enough! Kenyans cry after boda bodas molest woman

Sixteen suspects have been arrested following the assault of a female motorist by a mob along Professor Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi.

A disturbing viral clip of the female motorist, 32, being physically and sexually harassed by a gang of boda boda riders emerged online Monday, sparking public uproar.

The assault occurred last Friday at 5pm when the motorist hit a pedestrian, according to Nairobi Traffic Commandant Joshua Omukata.

The victim, whose legs were fractured, was rushed to Kiambu Level Four Hospital.

However, the boda boda riders attacked the motorist who was later rescued by traffic police officers.

Regulate boda boda sector

The video also caught the attention of the Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and the top leadership of the National Police Service as furious Kenyans on social media called for the regulation of the boda boda sector, saying it has gone rogue.

On Monday, Mr Omukata said the suspects were detained at Parklands Police Station. Five motorcycles had also been impounded.

Mr Omukata, however, declined to divulge when the suspects were arrested and whether they had been arraigned. He said the female motorist recorded a statement yesterday as she he had been too traumatised by the incident to do so on Friday.

In the video clip, as the woman was trying to sort out the matter, a group of riders circled her vehicle – as they often do – and started harassing her. Afraid for her safety, she attempted to drive away but could not get far due to heavy traffic.

The gang, which had now grown to more than a dozen, quickly caught up with her, forced her car door open and started pulling her out as she screamed for help.

Sexually assaulted

As this was happening, some of the men tried to undress her while others sexually assaulted her.

Despite the boda boda sector’s significant contribution to the economy and its importance as a complementary mode of transport, the lack of a regulatory framework is increasingly turning it into a security threat.

“Apart from going against our societal and cultural norms, the incident has become a cause for alarm among the public due to the lack of security within the country when it comes to disorderly and retaliatory behaviour of boda boda operators,” said the Protective and Safety Association of Kenya about the incident.

The traumatising video elicited countrywide condemnation, with many Kenyans wondering why the state has “normalised” boda boda violence whenever there’s an accident involving one of them.

“Boda bodas are the biggest threat to national security, worse than terrorism. Their daily recklessness on the road causes accidents that lead to loss of limbs and lives. Some of them are in gangs that rob, maim and kill. They have to be regulated before it’s too late,” said activist Boniface Mwangi.

Involved in crime

Some boda bodas are involved in crime, such as robbery, while many often ride on the wrong side of road. At the same time, many of them use unlicensed motorcycles without any training on road safety.

The result of a combination of all these factors is a sector that has become a law unto itself, pushing the society to accept as normal the ills it does.

“Our attention has been drawn to a distasteful video circulating on social media of boda boda riders attacking a motorist after an alleged road traffic accident. The rowdy gang went ahead and stripped the lady off her clothes,” said the National Police Service in a post on their social media pages.

“The matter is under active investigation. We have since identified some of the perpetrators and they will be presented before a court of law upon completion of investigations,” said the police.

“I am shocked and disgusted by a viral video clip of a female motorist being molested by suspected boda boda riders along Wangari Maathai/Forest Road,” Dr Matiang’i wrote on his Twitter handle. 

He added that he had instructed security agents to ensure that the perpetrators are apprehended and punished.

Last week, a matatu belonging to Latema Sacco was set ablaze after it hit and killed a boda boda rider within the Kinoo area of Kiambu County.

Statistics show boda bodas are the biggest cause of accidents in all the urban areas. So bad is the situation that most county hospitals have set up special wards for the treatment of riders and their passengers who get involved in accidents.

Yet, despite the statistics clearly putting them on the wrong, boda bodas have always been quick to retaliate whenever one of them is involved in an accident with a motorist.

A task force that was formed in 2019 to create regulations on how to streamline the sector has never made public the policies it came up with.