Fury as boda boda riders are caught molesting female motorist

Kenyans have reacted with fury after a video was posted online showing unruly boda boda riders sexually assaulting a female motorist along Wangari Maathai Road in Nairobi.

In the short clip, the woman can be heard screaming while boda boda riders try to forcefully remove her from the car.

The one-minute-seven-second-long video opens with the riders and some members of the public running towards the fear-stricken woman.

She can be heard screaming throughout the ordeal as the aggressors shout “mtoe nje, tutakua” (get her out, we will kill you), as they pound her car.

Some of the assailants then try to undress her as they shout “you are not going anywhere, zima gari (switch off the car)”.

Confirming the incident, the National Police Service spokesperson Bruno Shioso said the unfortunate incident happened last week on Friday.

People at the scene

He added that the police is already seized of the matter.

"The matter is under active investigations. We have since identified some of the perpetrators and they will be presented before in court upon completion of investigations," he said.

He said that the woman had been involved in an accident with a pedestrian leading to an exchange with people at the scene.

“I think she was a bit adamant and was not owning up to the accident. This infuriated those at the scene, especially the boda boda riders but by good luck traffic police officers responded in good time,” he said.

He added that the female motorist recorded a statement at the Pangani police station on Monday afternoon regarding the accident.

“We have spoken to the traffic department who are also handling it from their side,” said the spokesperson.

Mr Shioso said the police will launch an operation against unruly boda boda riders in Nairobi.

Just help out

“This culture of boda boda riders being unruly is getting out of hand and we will begin an operation to weed out the rogue elements amongst them,” said Mr Shioso.

“We are warning boda boda operators and members of the public to desist from taking matters into their own hands. Just help out and wait for the police,” he added.

The Protective and Safety Association of Kenya (Prosak) has also condemned the incident calling for the arrest and prosecution of boda boda riders involved in the assault.

“The incident has become a cause for alarm among the general public due to the lack of security within the country when it comes to disorderly and retaliatory behaviour of boda boda operators,” Prosak secretary-general Delano Kiilu Longwe said in a statement.