The government has extended the time set for boda boda operators to ensure they are totally traffic complaint, from February 1st 2019 to 1st May 2019. Interior CS Fred Matiang’i had already outlined that the enforcing of traffic laws won’t be restricted to PSVs alone, but will trickle down to boda bodas. He had said that from February, the boda boda sector would be operating under a new regime. However, speaking to the press after a meeting with the National Assembly’s Parliamentary Caucus, PS Karanja Kibicho said they have extended the moratorium on the recommendations by the boda boda reforms taskforce.
He said they’ll give time for the boda boda industry players to undergo training, licensing and acquisition of necessary accessories that touch on safety. He said that the boda boda operators will still be required to keep the rules, “In the mean-time, all boda boda operators will be expected to obey the law. They’ll be expected to ferry one passenger at a time and operate motorcycles that are in good mechanical condition,” said Kibicho. He said they’ve further agreed that the boda boda taskforce will be expanded to cover a wider range of representation from the boda boda sector and that expansion will be communicated after discussions, in due course. The 12 member taskforce had been formed to address policy, legal, and administrative reforms regarding the public motorcycle tyranspor sector, and compile the required data and information. Morover, a national boda boda convention, where representation of boda boda sector players from every County will be held early in the first quarter of 2019.