Makau Mutua reiterates call for boda boda ban after Donholm bus incident

President William Ruto’s senior advisor on Constitutional affairs Makau Mutua has reiterated his calls to have boda boda’s banned from urban centres.

In a statement on Thursday, Mutua said he has previously warned about the dangers of having boda Boda operators, citing an incident in Donholm where a mob set a public service vehicle bus on fire after an accident that killer a rider.

He insisted that the ban should be effected immediately.

“I’ve repeatedly warned the nation about the existential threat of the boda boda industry, which has run amok.  Here, in an orgy of violence, they collectively torch a bus after it allegedly hit one of their number. We must ban boda boda pronto!” Mutua said.

In the Donholm incident, a mob believed to be boda boda operators attacked and set on fire the bus involved in the fatal accident.

Police said the bus had knocked down and killed a rider before a mob set it on fire.

This was after the passengers and crew disembarked from the bus, police said.

The police said they arrived at the scene and found the bus on fire. A mob that was behind the incident had escaped the scene.

The body of the rider was moved to the mortuary pending autopsy and other investigations.

In earlier remarks, Mutua had cited safety concerns and disorder.

“I am convinced that all boda boda should be banned from the streets of all Kenya’s major cities and towns. No modern city should tolerate such chaos, illegality, terrible aesthetics and indiscipline on its roads. Absolutely unacceptable!” wrote Mutua.

His sentiments were strongly opposed by the Boda Boda Association of Kenya (BAK), which accused Mutua of undermining a vital economic sector that supports millions of Kenyans.

“We strongly condemn the recent statement by Makau Mutua on his social media platforms calling for the banning of all boda bodas from Kenya’s cities and towns,” BAK said in a statement.

“Such remarks are not only reckless but deeply inconsiderate coming from a leader associated with a government that champions the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda (BETA), a model that places the common mwananchi at the centre of economic growth.”

The association emphasised the economic role of the boda boda sector, noting that it supports over 2 million families nationwide.