Boda Boda Riders Raise Concern over Theft of Motorcycles

Kajiado, April 20, 2023

K.N.A By Diana Meneto

Boda boda riders in Kajiado are raising concern over the rising cases of motorcycle theft, urging the government to quickly intervene to save them from becoming jobless.

The riders allege that the credit companies which usually offer the youths motorbikes on loan to be paid on monthly or weekly basis are the ones behind the theft cases as the motorcycles unexplainably get stolen when the riders have cleared their loans.

“We have four riders whose motorcycles have been stolen in the same style within this month. It is unfortunate that the tracking systems in the boda bodas stop working immediately the bikes are stolen and the credit companies claim they are unable to track them too, yet, they normally religiously track them when weekly or monthly loan payments are overdue,” said David Gitau, the chairperson of the Boda boda operators in Kiserian.

He adds that the creditors usually track the motorcycles to their homes if they don’t pay their loans on time and end up harassing their wives and children but they do not act same way when notified of the theft of the bikes.

The riders allege that they pay Sh.80,000 to Sh.100, 000 shillings to the creditors for the loans but once the motorbikes get lost, the creditors ask them to start paying the loans afresh so that they can be given a new motorcycle.

“The government should intervene as we have had several meetings with the creditors but they haven’t yielded any results. The riders in Ngong, Kitengela and Kajiado all report the same problem. We want to fend for our families through the modest ways,” says Timothy Ouma, a boda boda rider in Kiserian

The riders allege that some of the creditors have persons who impersonate as police officers and usually arrest them when they delay their payments which is against the law.

Courtesy K.N.A