Boda-boda (or bodaboda) is a bicycle taxi, originally in East Africa (from English border-border
STEPHEN ASTARIKO
Friday, August 03, 2012
Daadab DC Albert Kimathi has banned all boda boda operators from in and outside the sprawling refugee camps. The decision follows a meeting of top district security officers and elders from the six refugee camps yesterday. The boda boda operators have in the recent past been accused of transporting criminals in and outside the camps.
Speaking to the Star on phone the DC, who chaired the meeting, said the a district steering group will monitor the activities of the boda boda operators. “Unlike in the past when we only had taxis, in the last few months we have had boda boda emerge as the preferred mode of transport by many. This is a cause for alarm because the operators are known and majority of them are not registered. We suspect that criminals are now using them to either commit the crimes,” said Kimathi.
The suspected al Shabaab militants, who abducted iid workers from the Norwegian council at in the Ifo refugee camp and taken to Somalia last month, were dropped there by two motorcycles. A Kenyan driver was shot dead during the incident. The operators were also blamed for the attack at a school where three construction workers were injured. According to eyewitnesses, the two masked attackers, who hurled a hand grenade at the workers, were on a motorbike.
The DC said all elders in the camps will be expected to know all the motorbikes within their camps. “There will also be no boda boda operating beyond 6pm and anyone found flouting the ban will face the law," he added. He urged for cooperating from everybody “if the war against terror is to be won”.
Source: Nairobi Star