Kenya Roads Board (KRB) will partner with North Eastern national polytechnic to train over 300 boda boda riders afresh on road safety measures.
This comes a week after the government suspended the countrywide crackdown on boda boda operators to give them time to comply with the required regulations.
Speaking during a consultative meeting with the over 400 boda boda operators in Garissa, KRB director General Rashid Mohamed said that the sector plays an important role in the country’s economy and there is need to ensure that riders operate within the law.
“We need to change the current boda boda story in the country. Ensure a well-regulated boda boda sector which provides a safe and accessible transport,” Mohamed said.
Mohamed urged the operators to enroll for the training, apply for licenses and put their security and that of other customers first while on the roads.
“The roads are for all of us. We share it with pedestrians and other motorists and so we should ensure security of each one of them because unless we are all safe on the roads, no one is,” he said.
The director general said that road accidents claims 3,000 lives annually adding that 50 per cent of the accidents can be avoided.
“We have lost many young people on the roads while others are nursing major injuries. With proper training and following traffic rules, some of these accidents should never have happened,” he said.
KRB says it has so far spent Sh 20 million through the National Transport and Safety Authority over the last one year to train boda boda riders across the country on matters safety that include among others road safety.
Garissa sub-county police commander James Ng’etich said that the police will work with the leaders of the area boda boda association to ensure that within the 60-day window given by the government, all the riders will have complied with the necessary requirements.
Ng’etich warned the operators against being used by politicians to cause violence especially in the ongoing general elections campaigns.
He further said that stern actions will be taken against anyone who will be caught carrying drugs, illegal immigrants or terror suspects.
Each of the 400 riders was issued with a helmet and two reflector jackets.
By Erick Kyalo
