This archive report was first published on 25 September 2019.
Published on September 25, 2019, a group of agitated boda boda operators in Nairobi marched to the county offices to complain of the harassment and extortion they were facing at the hands of the county askaris.
The motorcyclists claimed that the askaris were impounding their motorcycles for 21 days and forcing them to pay Sh2,000 daily storage fee until their motorcycles were released.
According to Thomas Lesatin, the boda boda chairman, the harassment was orchestrated by a senior female county official, who had a personal interest in the matter.
"Madam is to blame for our troubles. She has a lorry that confiscates our motorcycles and locks them in a yard even when we use the roads assigned to us by the county," Nicholas Njane, a boda boda operator, alleged.
The boda boda operators had previously been assigned four major roads: Haile Selassie avenue, Uhuru Highway, University way, and Kirinyaga road. However, they claimed that the askaris were still arresting them on these roads and fining them.
Lesatin stated that they had drafted a letter to the majority leader of the county assembly to have the house file a motion to remove the senior official from office.
