Leaders demand probe into motorbike thefts, riders killings

Isiolo leaders have demanded investigations into rising cases of motorbike theft and attack on riders on the outskirts of Isiolo town.

Led by Woman Rep Mumina Bonaya, Garbatulla MCA Abdirashid Ali Diba and local politician Mwenda Thuranira, the leaders wondered why the majority of the riders killed were those who were almost completing repaying loans for their motorcycles.

“The security team should move with speed and stop the attacks to ensure our youths go about their businesses without fear of being killed,” Ms Bonaya said while issuing Sh2.4 million bursaries to 250 secondary and 120 college students.

Mr Thuranira said police must establish the link between the attack on riders and their pending loans, saying the criminals could be colluding with rogue dealers.

“Patrols should be intensified at night especially within Mater and Red Cross areas where several bodies have been dumped in the recent past,” he said.

A man suspected to be a boda boda rider was a week ago killed and his body dumped several metres from a police roadblock at the diversion leading to Isiolo International Airport.

He had been stabbed several times, with police suspecting he might have been killed elsewhere and his body dumped on the roadside.

Mr Ali said the attacks and killings had exposed riders’ dependents, including their wives and children, to suffering, some surviving at the mercy of their neighbours.

“Why is it that the criminals are targeting new motorcycles and when the riders are almost clearing paying the loans?” he asked.

The boda boda operators said armed criminals were unleashing terror on their members at night, leaving them either dead or fighting for their lives, before stealing their motorbikes.

Cap interest

County Boda boda Association Chairperson Moses Miriti said at least 20 riders had been killed in the past five months.

He appealed to MPs to introduce regulations to cap interest on motorcycles offered by microfinance institutions, saying they were surcharging, exposing riders to unnecessary suffering.

“Many of the young riders have to work until late in the night to ensure they are able to raise the Sh476 one is required to pay daily. The total amount we pay totals to double the actual cost of the motorcycle,” Mr Miriti said.

Authorities earlier dismissed allegations by the public that nothing was being done to stop the attack, saying the suspect in January’s incident where a rider was killed and his motorbike stolen at Mater area had been arrested and charged in court.

It has emerged that many of the stolen motorbikes are taken to parts of Tigania East in Meru County where they are disassembled and the parts sold at throw-away prices.

The riders have appealed for installation of street lights on the Isiolo-Meru highway, saying it will go a long way in enhancing security.

“We also want those behind the past attacks and killings arrested and taken to court,” Mr Ben Karithi appealed.