What next for Kidero after boda boda riders defy city centre ban?
Boda boda riders have vowed to defy a directive by City Hall to move out of Nairobi’s central business district.
Governor Evans Kidero last week banned all motorcycles from ferrying passengers to or from the city centre.
“We have no single designated stage for the boda bodas in the city centre,” the county’s Transport executive Mohamed Abdullahi said shortly before the ban was imposed.
However, after the ban was issued in a notice that was published in the local dailies, the boda boda riders held a protest in town.
Through their association, they held a meeting at Uhuru Park and resolved to raise money to file a case in court, seeking an injunction to restrain City Hall from flushing them out of the city centre.
The riders, according to their chairman, Mr Kennedy Onyango, are now targeting to raise Sh1 million to hire a lawyer to file the case.
The riders have taken over almost every open space in the already congested city.
This has made things difficult for the business community.
In downtown Nairobi, matatu saccos are scrambling for the limited space to use as pick up and drop off points for their passengers.
As a result, the whole of downtown east of Tom Mboya Street has very little space left for the boda bodas.
But it was not until three months ago when the boda boda riders started occupying the upper section of the city centre where few open spaces are available.