How Nairobi CBD became one big boda boda bazaar

Western Kenya, for a long time, used to be known for its high numbers of bicycle boda bodas.

It was the commonest means of transport in the area and so widespread was it that if a man had a bicycle he was considered wealthy.

Years later, the capital Nairobi and the commercial and economic hub of East Africa, is also under the threat of being taken over by two-wheeled transporters – in this case, boda bodas.

Over the past year, the city has been overrun by an avalanche of boda boda riders.

They are now the most preferred means of mobility among city residents over short distances relegating taxis to the backbench.

Nevertheless, the most worrying trend is that the boda bodas are now threatening to take over the city centre and turn it into a big motorcycle bazaar.

In January 2018, former Governor Mike Sonko banned boda boda operators from the city centre in the wake of surging crime. But the riders refused to budge.

They are everywhere: in the backstreets, right in the middle of the city centre and in front of high-end buildings.

Over the years, the closest the boda bodas came to the city centre was the General Post Office or GPO, and to the other side of the city centre on Haile Selassie Avenue.

However, today, they have invaded every corner of the city centre, turning every little available space into their pick-up and drop-off points for pillion passengers.

Kimathi Street, Banda Street, Moi Avenue, in front of the Sarova Stanley, Hilton Hotel, Kenyatta Avenue, Wabera Street - name them and they have been turned into boda boda stages.

Boda Boda Safety Association of Kenya national chairperson Kevin Mubadi says there are about 50,000 boda boda operators in Nairobi.

The number has risen by about 10,000 due to the Covid-19 pandemic that resulted in many people losing their jobs and turning to the boda boda business as a source of income.

In the city centre, he says, about 2,000 boda boda riders are plying their trade and the number is increasing due to better cash flow in the area.

But why are they encroaching on the city centre despite the Nairobi County government banning them from entering the area?

Mr Mubadi explains that three factors are contributing to the influx, including many offices being located in the city centre, perennial traffic jams and corrupt Nairobi County Inspectorate officers.

He points out that all the big offices are located in the city centre and that is where many people who need their services are. When they need to run a quick errand, they take a motorbike.

This means that on average, a rider can make between Sh2,000 and Sh4,000 daily operating from the city centre.
“A passenger is charged a minimum of Sh100 to be carried even 20 metres. This means there is a lot of money circulating within the city centre compared to outside,” he explains.

Then the traffic gridlock, especially exacerbated by the ongoing construction of the Nairobi Expressway, more than tripled the need for boda bodas as Nairobians would opt to use motorbikes to the city centre and back home to beat deadlines.

“You carry a passenger and they tell you they are going to the city centre and so we must take them there. No one wants to walk or be stuck in a jam. Many people alight from matatus and opt to use boda bodas to get to their places of work on time,” Mr Mubadi offers.

Inconvenience of being late

Job Were, a boda boda rider, says that every business will always move close to where there is a market for whatever it is selling.

For them, their market includes people who are in a rush to attend to their businesses but are being inconvenienced by the incessant traffic gridlock in the city.

He explains that they have moved closer to save these residents from the inconvenience of being late in their errands.

“Imagine if I was not here, would you have reached your destination in time? I bet no. That is why we have come closer to you guys working in offices to save you the hassle of having to walk up to GPO to get a motorbike,” says Mr Were as he wades through traffic to get me to my destination.

He points out that Nairobi residents should brace for more boda bodas in the city centre as the business is booming and there is no turning back considering the high levels of unemployment in Kenya, especially among young people who make up the majority of the country’s 50 million people.

He has been in the business for the past five years but since he relocated to the heart of the city late last year, his fortunes have grown exponentially.

“On a bad day, I make Sh3,000 but when business is booming the daily income can get even up to Sh8,000. I know very well that I make a lot more money than most of the passengers I carry on my boda boda,” he avers.

“They use us to deliver parcels from one office to the other. They use us to beat traffic jams as they rush to urgent meetings or errands. We are very important to them and that is why we have come closer to them. They don’t need to go looking for us. We are right at the doors of their offices,” adds Mr Were.

Then there is Wilberforce Makokha, who looks like he is approaching his 50s. For him, it is through the boda boda business that his children are attending school.

Existing ban

“I have a child in secondary school and another in Standard Eight. They depend on my boda boda income to get by. This is what I use to pay my bills and keep my family going,” he says.

Mr Makokha says that he makes between Sh2,000 and Sh5,000 every day, which to him would not have been possible if he were to operate far away from the city centre. He adds that the lowest fare they charge is Sh100 and they can make more than 30 trips daily.

But how is it possible for them to operate in the full glare of Nairobi County Inspectorate officers despite an existing ban on motorbikes in the city centre?

The riders say most of the time it is survival of the fittest as they engage the officers or kanjos, in a cat-and-mouse game.

The riders always tell their passengers to have the agreed fare ready in their hands so that when they are dropped off the rider can take the money and speed off.

The other tactic is for riders to terminate their journey somewhere around Hilton or City Hall depending on the direction they have come from to avoid the kanjos’ dragnet.

This sometimes turns ugly and often leads to bloody confrontations as the two camps take on each other, unwilling to yield even an inch.

“This is our livelihood and no one will be allowed to interfere with it. The askaris are on permanent and pensionable jobs where they are assured of a salary at the end of the month yet we do not have such luxury,” avers another rider who identifies himself as Njoro.

“So we are always ready to protect our source of income the same way they are also doing to theirs.”

Mr Mubadi says rogue Inspectorate officers have turned the influx of the boda boda riders into a cash cow.

He argues that the askaris cannot allow sanity to be restored in the city as this will mean they will lose their source of bribe money.

“There are two types of fines when you are arrested. You will either give out a Sh3,000 bribe or a genuine fine of Sh2,000. But problems start when you opt for the latter,” he says.

He explains that when one is arrested, he is supposed to part with Sh2,000 but getting back the impounded motorbike will be a herculean task as the askaris will keep taking the rider in circles to make sure penalties accrue to a level where one cannot pay.

Every day a motorbike spends at the county yard, Sh2,000 is charged as storage fee and the askaris will make sure the motorbike stays there for not less than 15 days.

But even if one is lucky to go the city court route, the enforcement officers always have a way of frustrating the rider. The officers will delay signing papers to allow the release of the motorbike even after court clearance.

“You must bribe them because the more it remains at the yard, the more money it accrues. One also loses out on getting their daily income,” Mr Mubadi says.

“So most riders prefer to give the bribe and continue operating. The askaris deliberately fail to follow the right procedure because they know that is their cash cow.”

Njoro agrees with Mr Mubadi, adding that things go horribly wrong when the askaris ask for a lot of money to let one free or just refuse to play along.

Running battles

"We know that when one is taken to the city court, the fine can even get to Sh10,000 or even Sh15,000. So hell breaks loose when they refuse to take the bribe at hand because they want more or their bosses have set a target of how many motorbikes they have to impound," he says.

Mr Mubadi explains that the askaris thrive on disorder and have deliberately refused to restore sanity in the sector because that will mean losing their source of illicit money.

He added that his association appealed to the county government to set up designated stages in the city centre to streamline boda boda operations but that proposal has not been acted upon because they prefer engaging the riders in running battles.

The designated points were to be used to accommodate them in the city centre so as to end the unending battles between the two adversaries.

“They thrive on confusion. If they get 100 riders, each paying a Sh5,000 fine, this translates to Sh500,000 a day in someone’s pocket. They carry out the swoops and arrests when they want money. So having us within the city centre is convenient for them,” he avers.

Boda boda riders have also been described as a nuisance and a security threat and accused of taking the law into their own hands, flouting traffic rules, including riding on pedestrian pavements, riding on opposite lanes disobeying traffic lights and being used to commit petty and serious crimes.

But Mr Mubadi points out that in April 2018, the association came up with an online portal to keep track of boda boda riders operating in the city centre.

Subsequently, 4,000 boda boda riders were registered and given a special code to be mounted on their motorcycles for identification. The stickers were to assist in identifying riders who break the law or those who are reported to be involved in crime.

These were part of the wider measures that were meant to herald self-regulation in the sector, with riders paying Sh1,000 every month for operating in the city centre.
With the boda boda information management system, all riders working in the city centre would be digitally identified by inputting the motorbike’s number plate to reveal who is flouting traffic rules or is involved in crime.
“We launched the system and even piloted it but the county government did not support it. They rejected it because it would have denied them the bribe money they get. They want that confusion to continue so that they can arrest riders and get money from them,” he says.
Some 300 boda boda riders, he said, were taken by City Hall to Kigali, Rwanda, for benchmarking on best practices but officials refused to implement what they learnt as that would have left no room for extortion.
“In Kigali, boda boda operators ride in town and follow the law. They are not harassed by askaris there. Why can we not implement the same system here? Kanjos cannot allow that,” he says.