The roar of motorbike engines is a common sound in the sprawling Kisii Town, which is home to some 200,000 people. Love them or hate them, the speedy machines have transformed life in the county.

You will find them in practically every corner of this hilly county transporting passengers, as well as building materials, farm produce, charcoal and even furniture.

Mr Mike Mose, the Chairman of the Kisii Boda Boda Association, says there are an estimated 56,000 bike riders in Kisii County.

“We have around 12,500 bikes operating in the town,” he told DN2.

Ms Samson Monda, 25, is a nurse by profession. Lack of opportunities in his profession drove him to the bike industry, and he has not looked back since.“My colleagues sometimes make fun of me, telling me to go and administer injections to patients in the hospital but I laugh it off and go on with my work,” he says.

Mr Monda is determined to make a decent living from his profession, and even as he operates a motorbike, he has his eyes firmly on the future. “I am currently saving and when I have saved enough, I will go back to university and get a nursing degree,” he says.

ECONOMIC STATUS

Mr John Mogambi, 36, is another rider. After nine years in the business, he has managed to put up a corrugated iron-roofed house in his rural Bobasi constituency home — which is no mean feat here — and send his seven-year-old son and nine-year-old daughter to school.

“My wife sells vegetables at Daraja Mbili. From our savings, we have built a modest, two-bedroom brick house in our rural home,” he says. “This business is not easy, but it has enabled me to improve my economic status.”

Mogambi is the coordinator of the town motorbike riders’ sacco, a job that he enjoys since it gives him an opportunity to network with other riders. “Through the position, I can articulate my sacco members’ concerns during meetings with county administrators,” he offers.

He owns five bikes, which generate a minimum of Sh400 each per day. He rides one but has employed four other riders.

“The least I can expect on a normal business day is Sh3,000,” he says.

“Without this business, I do not know how I would have fed my family and educated my children,” he says.

Boda Boda Association Secretary Bernard Mokua, 40, says that the town has a total of 32 designated passenger stages.

“We have around 12,500 riders operating in Kisii Town alone,” he says. “This makes the boda boda industry a major employer. Many families depend directly or indirectly on the bikes for a livelihood.”

SACCO LAUNCH

Mr Mokua reveals that, in an effort to improve their lives even further the riders have registered a savings and credit co-operative society. That the Sacco’s launch was attended by political heavyweights from the county is perhaps the clearest sign of their recognition of the boda bodas’ contribution to the local economy.

“We launched the Sacco last year at a colourful ceremony. The Kisii County governor, Mr James Ongwae, presided over the event,” sacco secretary Bernard Masankwa says, beaming with pride.

The governor donated Sh150,000 to help the sacco begin its operations. He also assigned Kisii County Government Sacco Officer Pamela Onsarigo the task of assisting the sacco in an advisory capacity until the officials can run it on their own.

The sacco gives loans to members at an interest rate of 2 per cent, with the lowest amount one can borrow being Sh20,000.

Mr George Moseti, the sacco’s credit coordinator, says that most of the bikes are owned by individuals, who sometimes lend them to others for short periods when they want to take a break. In this way, those who borrow the bikes make some trips and earn money, a percentage of which they give the motorcycle owners.

“This practice also gives many young people, who would otherwise be engaged in a life of delinquency and crime, an opportunity to earn money honestly,” he says.

“Some of our members have graduated from bikes and bought taxis or matatus using sacco loans,” he adds.

STORMY START

Mr Moseti says that the riders enjoy a cordial working relationship with the police and county administration, after an initially stormy start.

“In the past, we used to clash with the traffic police and county administrators but we have gradually reached an understanding on how to work together and coexist. Nowadays, we resolve disputes peacefully,” he says.

However, he notes that despite the industry’s rapid growth, insecurity remains a threat, adding that riders are learning to protect themselves better with time and experience.

“Some thugs hire our members pretending to be customers, only to attack and rob them of the bikes when they reach a dark or deserted area,” he says.

“We have learnt to protect ourselves by alerting each other on the routes we are taking with passengers, especially at night, when such attacks are likely to occur. Whenever the alarm is raised, our members nearest to the concerned area head there in large numbers and go after the thieves,” Mr Moseti says.

He says that this has reduced the incidents of violent robbery that plagued the fledgling industry during its formative stages.

County Commissioner Chege Mwangi says the boda boda riders are an important part of the Kisii County economy, but cautions the riders to use their earnings wisely.

THE ALCOHOL MENACE

“Most of them make a good amount of money every day, which they should use wisely in order to empower their families economically,” he says.

Mr Mwangi says the greatest threat to the operators is taking illicit brews.

By consuming these brews, they risk causing accidents and deaths while transporting goods and customers, he says.

“I challenge all riders to desist from taking chang’aa because they endanger the lives of their passengers and other road users,” he said.

The National Transport and Safety Authority (NTSA) recently launched a road safety awareness campaign targeting 8,000 riders in the county. Director Lee Kinyanjui says that most boda boda operators in the county do not have valid licences.

He also said that they lacked basic skills and knowledge of the Highway Code.

“One thing we have noted in the course of our operations within the county is the lack of basic skills among the motorbike riders,” he says. “This is a major problem and we are taking steps to address it,” he said.

PROPER TRAINING

The NTSA director challenged the riders to invest in proper training to minimise the loss of lives through accidents.

“The best thing you can do as a rider is to ensure that you acquire proper training and a licence,” he said.

Meanwhile, county residents are full of praise for boda bodas.

“I used to have difficulty transporting my potatoes from the supply centre to the market where I sell them, Ms Jane Kwamboka, a trader, says.

“With the advent of the bikes, I can transport all my stock at a go using several of them. Transporting my goods has never been easier,” she says.

Ms Rebecca Matoke, a single mother of one, says that her two motor bikes have enabled her to pay rent and school fees as she pursues an accounting course at a local college.

“As a business professional and an entrepreneur, I can say that the boda bodas are a godsend. I will invest in more bikes once my savings allow me to do so,” she offers.

Mr David Maina, a clinical medicine student at Kisii University, says that motorbikes are his main form of transport.

“Whenever I am running late for class, I simply hop onto a boda boda, which quickly and safely gets me to my destination,” he says.