As schools close for the long holiday, a dangerous rush for quick cash is luring students in Gucha Sub-County onto motorbikes, and boda boda leaders say enough is enough.
Speaking to Education News in Ogembo town, Gucha Sub-County Boda Boda Chairman Kenyanya Omare said his office has been flooded with complaints from worried parents that some operators are secretly training schoolchildren to ride on footpaths and in bushes for a small fee.
"These students train for only two to three days and then they are hired by owners who have more than one motorbike to work for them. These amateur riders are the main cause of the many accidents we are witnessing," Omare said.
He said he had directed chairmen of all 92 boda boda stages across the sub-county to take firm action. Any student found riding illegally would be reported to the police for appropriate legal action.
"Any owner whose motorbike will be found in the hands of a student will be held personally responsible and taken to the police with immediate effect," he warned.
Omare said the trend, though seen as a holiday hustle, is costing learners their future.
He noted that many boys who taste daily cash from boda boda work lose interest in books. They return to school tired, sleep in class and eventually drop out altogether to become full-time riders.
For girls, he said, the danger is equally worrying. He claimed that close interaction with riders has contributed to early sexual relationships, teenage pregnancies and early marriages, forcing some girls out of school in the area.
He added that the sector is also exposing minors to drug and substance abuse, petty crime and dangerous peer influence. Untrained and underage, he warned, some learners risk causing or becoming victims of serious accidents, potentially resulting in death or lifelong injuries.
"Some of these boys become very indisciplined. They no longer listen to parents or teachers because they have money in their pockets," Omare said.
Boda boda riders urged to uphold discipline
At the same time, the chairman welcomed Ogembo town's elevation to municipality status. He appealed to his members to uphold high standards of conduct befitting the town's status and abandon uncouth behaviour.
"We are now in a municipality, we must behave like people in a municipality. Let us drop insults, reckless riding, fighting over customers and drunkenness at stages," he said.
He called on parents, chiefs, teachers and the police to join hands with boda boda leadership to keep learners safe during the long holiday and encourage them to engage in revision, home duties and approved vocational skills instead of risky riding.
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