Nairobi County moves to tame 'Kanjos', streamline bodaboda industry

Nairobi County government has revealed plans aimed at streamlining the bodaboda operators within the Central Business District.

City Hall has now set up a specific unit that deals with bodaboda issues within Nairobi.

The Bodaboda Compliance and Enforcement Team as revealed by Security and Compliance Chief Officer Tony Kimani during an interview with The Eastleigh Voice, is an office within the Inspectorate Department.

"The bodaboda industry has never been regulated in terms of order and as an administration, we realised we have never had a dedicated team to deal with bodaboda and that is why we established the enforcement team to deal specifically with them," he said.

Kimani explained that the enforcement department had received complaints from the bodaboda operators of harassment by the Kanjos.

Despite agreeing that indeed some Kanjos harass the bodaboda operators who try to make a decent living by ferrying pillion passengers across the CBD, some of them impersonate the officers.

To get rid of impostors, City Hall has instructed all the inspectorate offices under the bodaboda compliance and enforcement team to put on the appropriate uniform which has their identification numbers at the back.

The identification numbers (orange in colour) can be used by bodaboda operators to formally complain and identify the officers harassing them.

Nairobi County Security and Compliance Chief Officer Tony Kimani during an interview with The Eastleigh Voice on July 29, 2024, at City Hall Annexe, Nairobi. (Photo: Maureen Kinyanjui)

"Bodaboda operators have also complained and feel that Kanjo officers have harassed them. They have a window to complain and by branding the uniforms with identification numbers, they are able to raise the complaint to the relevant office and investigations are carried out," Kimani explained.

Harassment decline

"And this for a fact has lowered the issues of harassment and complaints of 'rogue' officers," he added.

As a result, the Chief Officer for Security ordered the bodaboda operators not to allow any arrests from an inspectorate officer who is not in uniform and from the Bodaboda Compliance and Enforcement Team.

"I even instructed all the bodaboda operators that any officer who arrests you and is not wearing a reflector, should be flagged out and they should resist the arrest," Kimani said.

"Not everyone in the Nairobi County Government and in particular the security and compliance department should arrest a bodaboda operator. Even if that bodaboda operator is violating the law, you will not arrest them," he added.

Nairobi Inspectorate Officers during a meeting with Governor Johnson Sakaja on October 25, 2023. (Photo: X/Johnson Sakaja)

The new order according to the security chief has also tamed the Kanjos into sticking to their area of jurisdiction.

"If a violation is taking place at a particular place and there is no officer who is not allocated there it shows reluctance on our end and action should be taken," Kimani added.

The city inspectorate officers are mandated to maintain law and order by enforcing city by-laws.

However, they are infamous for ruthlessness and extortion.

In a bid to restore their tint image, last year in October, Governor Johnson Sakaja stamped his authority and said all officers on duty should be in uniform.

Sakaja pointed out that without uniforms the officers might not be taken seriously and might also be mistaken for impostors who are out to deceive the public.

He also emphasised that all officers will be designated specific areas to operate which will help to spot the officers sleeping on duty or those who will break the law.