Arrest those who torched our bikes during demos, Mlolongo boda riders tell cops

Bodaboda operators now want police to arrest their attackers during the anti-government demonstrations in Mlolongo, Machakos County on Tuesday.

The riders who operate in the Mlolongo and Syokimau areas within the Athi River subcounty said they were attacked by goons who had infiltrated the Gen Z demonstrations.

Some of the riders’ motorbikes were torched during the demonstrations in what police termed as a clash between two groups.  More than five motorcycles were torched in the incident.

The National Bodaboda Association chairman Kevin Mubadi urged his colleagues not to take the law into their own hands and instead exercise restraint as relevant security agencies investigate the Tuesday incidents.

The bodaboda operators told off politicians who they claimed were dragging them into their local politics stating they weren’t politicians.

"We don’t want politicians to interfere with the bodaboda sector. Once we vote them into office, we expect them to stick to their designation and not meddle in our affairs," Mubadi said.

They addressed the press in Mlolongo town on Wednesday.

Mubadi said, that though the demonstrators had a constitutional right to picket, they had no right to destroy properties of other Kenyans.

Mlolongo Syokimau Bodaboda Association chairman Alex Mutuku said their colleagues were at work when they were attacked and their motorbikes burnt.

“Today we are gathered here because of what happened yesterday. Some thugs infiltrated the demonstrations, as bodaboda operators we have never been involved in the anti-government demonstrations, we have always been at work,” Mutuku explained.

“They attacked questioning why we weren’t participating in the demonstrations."

The operators poured into the Nairobi – Mombasa Highway in their hundreds protesting against the incident. They barricaded the Nairobi – Mombasa lane at Mlolongo town for minutes completely interrupting the free flow of traffic on the highway.

Most motorists plying the route from Mombasa's general direction diverted to the Nairobi – Expressway to avoid inconveniences caused by the bodaboda operators.

Some senior officers from Mlolongo police station responded to the scene where the road was blocked a few metres from the Weighbridge and talked to the protesters to move out of the highway. They heeded, but another group of riders proceeded to block the same highway about 600 metres from the first location.

Police later dispersed the protesting bodaboda operators by firing teargas canisters. The officers successfully pushed them out of the highway, restoring normalcy.

“We have had successful meetings with relevant authorities including senior police officers on the matter. We warn those who are interfering with our operations, bodaboda is independent,” Mutuku said.

Mutuku said their bodaboda business should be respected just like other jobs.

“You can’t force people into demonstrations. They were anti-government protests, not demonstrations against bodaboda operators. So, we don’t understand why people are targeting us,” Mutuku said.

He urged Machakos Governor Wavinya Ndeti to get to their rescue by compensating the torched motorcycles.

The Association’s secretary Joseph Mwania joined the riders in demanding justice for their affected colleague in Mlolongo asserting that they had lost their livelihoods due to the attack.

“A new motorbike currently costs around Sh200,000. If someone torches one it’s like an infrastructure, plot or shop that you are protecting lost,” Mwania said.

“They have now pushed us to the wall, the reason why all the bodaboda operators have come out from Mlolongo and Syokimau. We have never converged the way we have done today. They have seen all of us today because our people have been touched,” Mwania said.

Athi River East subcounty police commander Anderson Mbae urged the operators to be extra vigilant to avoid infiltration by criminal elements.

“They should cooperate with security officers and be part of making their working environment safer at all times. In case of any grievances, they should feel free to bring it up with the relevant authorities for action and shouldn’t barricade any road as it ends up inconveniencing other road users consequently amounting to criminality and breach of peace,” Mbae told the Star.

Governor Ndeti condemned the attacks on the bodaboda operators terming the incident as organised political violence.

“My attention has been drawn to the ugly incidents and acts of lawlessness that were witnessed in Mlolongo town where an organised gang of criminals reined terror on peace-abiding bodaboda operators who were going about their normal business peacefully," Ndeti said in a press statement.

"Reports reaching me indicate that criminal elements hired by political operatives in Mavoko were dispatched to attack bodaboda operators and other law-abiding members of the public with the aim of looting, robbing and causing mayhem in the area.

“I call upon the police, the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and all the other security apparatus to round up these agents of anarchy and subject them to the due process of justice. I demand a swift, thorough and conclusive investigation into the mayhem in Mlolongo. The schemers, planners and all the agents of the criminal activities in the entire criminal value chain must be brought to book."