NAIROBI,Kenya, Mar, 8 – “That was a very disheartening thing to see and it is only one of others that have occurred across this country, we must be honest.”
A poignant statement from Kenya’s president Uhuru Kenyatta amidst national outrage in the wake of a sexual assault case where a woman was abused by scores of bodaboda operators along Parklands, in the country’s capital Nairobi.
The shocking and disgusting video showed the woman being assaulted by bodaboda riders after she was allegedly involved in an accident. Police reports have shown that she was driving from Gigiri to Parklands,before being accosted by the rowdy men who ended up sexually assaulting her, stealing her mobile phone alongside Sh130,000.
Social media was a buzz with Kenyans calling for the immediate arrest of the sex pests amidst further calls to have the sector undergo serious reforms. The sector is said to directly or indirectly employee at least 2 million Kenyans, mostly youth.
President Kenyatta while commemorating the International Women’s day at the Kenya School of Government announced a massive crackdown within the sector saying that the exercise will first be rolled-out in Nairobi before being extended to other parts of the country.
The president said that despite supporting youth in their business endeavours, time had come to restore sanity within the sector.
“..But friends, that is not a license for you and your motorbike to harass pedestrians by driving on pedestrian walk ways and chasing them back on to the road….it is not a license that allows for a bodabda to be used to do driveby shootings or to break vehicle’s windows and harass motorists along the road….and most definitely it is not a license for you to strip and remove dignity from our women…No! No!” said a tough talking Kenyatta.
Already the inspector general of police is under firm instructions from the president to conduct the crackdown with other relevant authorities that could see operators being forced to undergo a fresh licensing process.
“Tell your leaders to remove those among you that are rogue. We are going to deregister you all again,” he said.
Kenyatta said that the incident should never be repeated and that it was a stain on the country as it continues to combat sexual gender based violence perpetrated on women.
Kenyans especially politicians have meanwhile been cautioned against politicizing the matter with Kenyatta saying reforms are meant to improve the country’s business environment and restore order.
“I know this, and because we are in the silly season of politics, there are some who will start saying the government is harassing small traders, business people…there is nothing further from the truth. We want to see our young people succeed in their businesses.There is no government that has done more to support our young people to support to foster their businesses,”
Kenyatta said that during his administration several friendly business policies were implemented that saw youth purchase motorbikes at affordable prices.
“We have heard heroic stories of young men who have come to the rescue of women and people in distress and voluntarily even returning goods that people have left behind, this we cherish and we will support,” he said.
He also pointed out the fact that most of the bodaboda rider’s passengers are women and therefore such cases of abuse will only be detrimental to their work as no woman would likely feel safe while seeking their services.
“Most of your passengers are women, how can they be your clients if you disrespect them like the way it happened recently? ”
While spearheading this years’s celebrations under the theme of: Gender Equality Today For A Sustainable Tomorrow, Kenyatta said that Kenya remains at the forefront of combating gender based violence by virtue of co-leading the global action coalition on advancing gender equality and ending all forms of gender based violence.
During last year’s Paris Generation Equality forum, Kenya announced a set of bold commitments to address systemic barriers that allow gender based violence to thrive in the country.
This included,developing guidelines for management of county gender based violence recovery centers to ensure survivors have access to quality essential services
“We launched the integrated policy response to gender based violence for the national police service and the policy would steer the national police service in the establishment, management and operations of one stop centers to provide survivors with comprehensive,legal,psycho-social as well as health support,” said Kenyatta.
Kenya has also established an anti FGM prosecution unit that has been set up in the the office of the director of public prosecutions (ODPP).
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