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{
    "id": 1561702,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/1561702/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 490,
    "type": "speech",
    "speaker_name": "Kikuyu, UDA",
    "speaker_title": "Hon. Kimani Ichung’wah",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "That is because it is chaotic to drive on our Kenyan roads. As Hon. T.J. Kajwang’ has said, in Kenya, it is more dangerous to check what is on your right than on your left when you are driving. We expect people to overtake on your right given that we have right-hand drive cars and we keep left on our roads. However, people overtake from both the left and right sides; they join the roads from every other corner; and, overtake at all manner of places, including blind spots. The other day, somebody narrated to us in the House Business Committee how he shockingly witnessed three traffic policemen riding as pillion passengers on a bodaboda . Those are the people who are supposed to be enforcing the law to make sure that every bodaboda has one pillion passenger. You will easily find policemen flouting the same laws that they are supposed to enforce! Therefore, that tells us that there is need to have proper legislation and to ensure that the same laws are enforced. We cannot allow the chaos that is in the public transport sector today to continue. Sometime last year or early this year, there was hue and cry over a matatu that was said to be owned by a son of a prominent politician in this country . It became very fashionable to bash that one matatu that plies either Ngong’ or Rongai. It is not even owned by the son of the President, as it was said. The said son is a student in school but, because that is what was alleged, everybody on social media admonished him. Last year, there was an incident where a lady driver collided with a bodaboda somewhere in Kitengela. Kenyans can recall the chaotic scenes of her car being vandalised by other bodaboda riders. She was even assaulted. Police officers who were in the vicinity were stoned as they tried to protect the driver. That scenario of chaos cannot be allowed to continue. As leaders, we have a duty to protect the livelihoods of our young people who are making an income out of the bodaboda sector and we must protect them. That is why I want to agree with Hon. TJ Kajwang’ that the Departmental Committee on Transport and Infrastructure of this House must take it upon itself to make sure that there is proper order in the public transport sector both for bodabodas and matatus . Many of us miss the Muchuki days. I hope Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir is listening. It took the late Minister Michuki less than two weeks to create order in what was otherwise a very disorderly sector. But after he left us, we slowly crept back to the old days. I remember in my village, we had small matatu vehicles we used to call ng'othis. Those are small Mitsubishi Colt vehicles that would carry close to 30 people. With the Michuki rules, the Mitsubishi Colt was only licensed to carry 12 people. Now we have the Nissan matatu …"
}