Ten days ago, a car in Kisii Deputy Governor Joash Maangi’s convoy crashed into a motorcycle in which a father and son were riding, and they were both killed. But before it had been established who was to blame for this tragic outcome, the issue had been decided by a mob, mostly made up of boda boda riders.
They went ahead to burn the governor’s car and it is lucky that nobody was beaten to a pulp. Few motorists involved in lesser accidents with these unruly folk have been as fortunate.
I don’t have first-hand experience of this sort of accident and cannot therefore comment with much authority, but I have heard things. I also drive, albeit infrequently, on Kenyan roads and I have seen things.
The most distressing thing is that driving on our roads, whether in our cities or rural areas, has not only become a life-and-death issue, it is also the most stressful experience imaginable. I have been driving for the past 30 years and so I can readily testify that life for the motorist has considerably changed for the worse—dramatically.
Long gone are the days that one used to motor along sedately, without a worry in the world except, maybe, a burst tyre. It was nice to drive along and only worry about a dodgy matatu that would suddenly stop in the middle of the road to pick up passengers. It was reassuring to know that the only two-wheeled vehicle you will see on the road is the occasional bicycle that usually kept out of the way.
Today, alas, that is no more—the boda boda rider rules our roads, and among them are unruly knaves worse than any matatu driver ever was.
Traffic rules
And yet, these chaps offer a service so essential that one wonders how people moved around in the old days. Not only have they considerably eased transportation, they have also opened up the country in ways unimaginable just 20 years ago.
Today even grandmas are using bodas to go visit their grandsons in faraway villages, while grandpas are tremblingly putting their lives on the line by trusting fellows who behave as though traffic rules were meant for everyone else but themselves.
Lest I be accused of prejudice against all boda riders, although this may sound corny, I do have friends among them, and they have one thing in common. They recognise my age and do not rattle me around the way I see others do. They also do not attempt to scrape my elbows off by getting too close to other traffic that is made of stronger steel. But many others are different.
It is amazing to see these fellows weave and dance around moving traffic, or try to squeeze into impossible spaces between vehicles. It is also terrifying for a motorist to see through the side-mirror two bodas suddenly appear on either side of his car quite oblivious to the danger.
And that is the whole point; many quite modest men suddenly change when they get on a motorcycle and become real terrors. It must be psychological: the bike turns into a phallic symbol raising adrenaline levels and causing unwonted aggression. Many have no idea about traffic rules which is why they will merrily invade blind spots while overtaking on the wrong side of the road.
Forcing them to wear helmets and reflective clothes was a good idea in its time for it saved many lives, but it was not enough. Many of these chaps need urgent schooling on road protocol, manners and courtesy. One assumes that what must be done to streamline the sub-sector is already clear to the concerned authorities.
Solidarity
The riders also need to be taught a few lessons on anger management. Part of the reason why some of them react so crassly after accidents involving one of their own and motorists is that there seems to be generalised grudge between the two caused by inequality.
Apparently, boda boda riders feel that motorists look down on them, while those on four wheels regard those on two as a menace. There could be some truth in this on either side, but what is different is the reaction of the riders to sticky situations. When they band together in vociferous solidarity, they become a lynch mob which is dangerous to the rest of society.
Back in March 2019, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i set up a task force to seek ways to streamline the sub-sector and the report was received in January the following year. Very little has been heard of it since then, and if some of its recommendations have ever been implemented, it must have been done very quietly and with utter futility.
Indeed, things have got worse as the sub-sector has now been infested by chaps who also dabble in crime. Could disciplining boda boda riders have proven too hard a nut to crack for political reasons? After all, this mass employer of youth is also a huge vote bloc, which may not be easily dispensed with. BY DAILY NATION