Larry Madowo Impressed By Discipline Of Boda Boda Riders In Rwanda: "They Obey Traffic Lights"

• Journalist Larry Madowo was truly amazed when he had the opportunity to witness the remarkable discipline of boda boda riders in Rwanda
• He took a photo which captured them patiently adhering to traffic signals while donned in helmets
• In Kenya, on the contrary, nduthi riders have gained notoriety for consistently disregarding traffic regulations and riding without essential protective equipment

Renowned journalist Larry Madowo is in Rwanda on assignment, and one thing that caught his attention was the discipline among boda boda riders.

He shared a photo of the riders lined up under a traffic light waiting for the lights to change before proceeding.

Boda boda riders observe traffic rules

Apart from observing traffic rules, Madowo was impressed by how all the riders and their pillions were in safety helmets.

Coming from a country like Kenya where the boda boda industry is characterised by lawlessness, law and order in Rwanda was, evidently, a sight for him to behold.

Most riders in Kenya, especially Nairobi, ride without safety gear and are notorious for flouting traffic rules, most times leading to unwarranted accidents.

"Rwandan bodabodas obey traffic lights. Everyone is wearing a helmet. Must be nice," he captioned the photo.

Rwanda already has electric motorbikes

His sentiments were corroborated by actress Stycie Waweru who indicated that, unlike Nairobi, there are more motorcycles in the Kigali central business district.

She added that during her visit to the land of a thousand hills, she finally got to try an electric one and it didn't make noise or produce fumes.

"It felt safe too and can only ride one passenger in a helmet. It's reported that 60% of road users in Rwanda are motorcyclists," she wrote.

Stycie added that there are about 20,000 motorcycles in Kigali, a city of around 1.2 million people.

Sanitising the boda boda industry

Madowo's post can be attributed to the fact that Kenya has struggled to put in place measures to contain the boda boda industry.

One individual who has been taking the initiative to sanitise the industry is police officer Denis Kiprono Tonui from Mazeras.

Having gotten tired of being called to accident scenes involving boda boda riders, he started conducting sensitisation talks with operators to teach them road safety.

He covers topics like the importance of having insurance cover, wearing protective gear, and road discipline.

"Most of them only observe rules when one of them dies in an accident, but then they forget so fast," he told TUKO.co.ke.