Hundreds of boda boda riders from Bungoma town raided Webuye County Hospital and disrupted the normal working conditions in the hospital and the businesses around it.
All operations in the hospital and around it came to a standstill as men and women doing business around the hospital quickly closed their business premises in fear of vandalism.
Led by kanduyi boda boda chairman Evans Midenyo, the boda bodas said that one of their colleague was killed at Tuti area in kanduyi constituency and the killer made away with the motorbike.
When they received the sad news in the morning, they reported the matter to the police in Bungoma police station and gave their lead with the evidence they had.
They began to search for the missing motorbike only to receive information from their colleagues at Matete in Kakamega County that one suspect had been rescued by the police and they had recovered one motorbike.
“It is sad to lose one of our young friend in such a way we received the news of the recovered motorbike and realized it is the same motorbike and our friends informed us that they were about to burn the suspect before he was saved by the police officers from Matete and brought to Webuye and so we want to be allowed to see him and talk to him to tell us who his accomplices are.” said Midenyo.
The boda boda riders arrived in the hospital gate hooting. They started chanting demanding the hospital administration to release to them the suspect in the name of Andrew Barasa so that they could identify him with the description they had arguing that they had no plans to cause chaos.
When they were denied the access, they started shouting causing commotion in the hospital forcing the police to come.
The police disrupted their plan and they were forced to run away some even leaving their motorbikes, it took too long for the situation to be contained as the boda bodas from Matete joined their colleagues and almost broke the hospital gate.
Deputy County Commissioner of Bungoma east Abdulahi Khaliff (pictured left) had to intervene and address the boda boda operators promising to engage his counterparts from Kakamega county to get in to the matter and when the suspect is approved medically fit then he will be taken to court and charged.
However Khaliff warned the residents and motorbike operators against taking action in their hands urging them to report to the police and let them do their work.
” It is against the law for you to take actions in your hands, coming at the hospital was the worst decision because we have patients here who don’t need noise.” He said
“You have also interfered with the normal work here, let us avoid such issues and embrace the rule of law and dialogue” added Khaliff.
It is said that Mr. Andrew Barasa had snatched the motorbike from the owner and killed him during the 27th eve before heading to Eldoret town where it is said he was going to get a customer for the motorbike sale.
He was corned by residents of Matete when they realize that his motorcycle had blood while he had gone to a shop to buy credit.
He tried to escape but he failed and was seriously injured by a mob justice, he was about to be burned before the police from Matete police station rescued him and rushed him to the nearest Matete hospital and later transferred to Webuye county hospital as his condition was not good.
This incident comes barely a week after another boda boda operator was killed in Webuye in an unclear circumstance.
Boda boda operators fraternity have called on police to speed up investigation and bring to book all the culprits involved in this syndicate that is threatening the industry that is growing daily and providing job opportunities to many jobless youths especially in the western Kenya.
In the recent past the killing of boda boda in bungoma county had reduced so much after the county commissioner Mohamed Maalim beefed up security in the whole county and also involved the community in the security system by providing a security landline that one could call and inform the moment one senses danger.
According to Maalim the security was also uplifted when the national government provided the county with more than seventy vehicles to help in the security even up to the interior villages.