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{
    "id": 1446344,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1446344/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 241,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Sen. (Dr.) Khalwale",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": {
        "id": 170,
        "legal_name": "Bonny Khalwale",
        "slug": "bonny-khalwale"
    },
    "content": "When these people gang up, it becomes a real threat, especially to motorists. When you hit one boda boda rider, however slight the scratch is, when they gang up, they can do anything to you. You have seen several cases in this country. One was reported in Juja, where a four- wheel-drive vehicle of a young lady was set on fire by these people. We want to discourage them from ganging. I wanted to avoid prescribing a fine for every little crime. I will go further. Where it is not provided for in the mother Traffic Act, I will see what prescription we can pick. This Bill streamlines the relationship between a rider and the owner of a motorbike. Why is it important, colleagues? It is important because as long as there is no accident or injury, the relationship between the owner of the motorbike and the rider is usually very cozy. However, the moment an accident occurs, the owner normally abandons the young rider. You will find them there in hospital stuck up with bills of Kshs40,000 or Kshs50,000. We should find ways of having a formal contractual agreement, so that we cushion the riders from being abandoned by their employers. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, as I conclude, this law is important because it is now speaking to the matter of the cost of road traffic accidents. You might not know it - this is my profession - but the three commonest injuries that these riders get is head injury, fractured limbs and multiple injuries. When you are treating a patient with a head injury - and I am speaking with maximum authority - the cost of that treatment is usually around Kshs3 million. If you are treating a fractured limb or a lost limb, the cost is Kshs1.6 million. If there are multiple injuries, cuts here and there, bruises here and there, it can go for as high as Kshs900,000 to Kshs1 million. This Bill will cut this cost and this is why I want to agree with Sen. Wambua that the governor and the national Government should play a bigger role in the issue of cost because these people make a huge contribution to the national economy and, therefore, we can afford to underwrite some of the things, including the injuries. Finally, I want to take this opportunity to thank colleagues and look forward to the fact that this Bill will become law in the coming weeks. I thank you and I respond. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, before I sit down, allow me to beg to reply and request that the putting of the question be deferred to a later date convenient to the Calendar of the House, pursuant to the Standing Order No.66(3). I thank you."
}