by Kirera Mwiti 

@PeopleDailyKe

Gilgil MP Martha Wangari has praised the move to suspend the crackdown on motorcycle operators, saying it had turned into a witch-hunt.

She said such an exercise should be carried out in a humane manner, adding that the suspended one was disorganised, brutal and left tens of operators jobless.

But she was quick to condemn the Wangari Mathai (formerly Forest) Road incident where suspected operators were caught on camera harassing a woman motorist.

Speaking in Gilgil during a graduation ceremony for youth involved in various vocational courses, the MP said there was a need to regulate the sector.

Bad elements

She noted that there a were few bad elements who were soiling the sector and they need to be flushed out.

“The majority of operators are well behaved. But we have to admit that the few bad elements should be kicked out,” she said.

Wangari noted that the crackdown had adversely affected many innocent youth,  praising the move to suspend the operation.

“It was carried out in an inhumane manner, leaving some families hungry and the motorcycle owners in debt,” she said.

On the graduation ceremony, she said the local CDF had sponsored close to 900 youth in various vocational courses as a way of empowering them.

She said the beneficiaries were those who could not join colleges and universities and came from poor backgrounds.

“The youth have undergone short courses and they have been empowered with start-up kits so that they can restart their lives,” he said.

One of the beneficiaries of the training, David Maina, said they had been empowered and could now be self-employed. “We leave this college better and informed persons and ready to join the job market after even getting start-up kits,” he said.

Join job market The chairman of boda boda operators in Gilgil, Badi Mseme, said there were over 3,000 youth who had benefited from the sector.

“The boda boda crackdown caused a lot of pain and suffering to the operators and there were fears of a rise in crime levels after many people were left jobless,” he said.