Notorious boda boda thief banished from Kirinyaga after operators recover stolen bike

The operators tracked down the motorcycle in Kagio after the suspect allegedly gave conflicting accounts of where he had sold it, initially claiming it was in Kimbimbi before changing his story to Kagio.

Acting on a tip-off, the operators traced the motorcycle to a rented house in Kagio, where they recovered it. The person who had allegedly bought the motorcycle was not found, although operators said they discovered several motorcycle spare parts at the premises.

The recovery prompted more than 100 boda boda operators from Kutus to converge on the area, with their arrival drawing attention from residents as they searched for the stolen motorcycle.

Led by Levis Murimi and Ephanus Njiru, the operators escorted the suspect, identified as Gitonga, to Kutus, where an angry crowd threatened to lynch him.

Tension escalated as fuel was reportedly prepared to set him on fire, forcing the suspect to plead for his life and promise never to steal again.

The operators eventually spared him, citing his young family, including a child who was born barely a week ago.

Instead, they ordered him to leave Kirinyaga and return to his ancestral home in Mbeere, Embu County, warning him against setting foot in the county again.

"We have told him to go away because next time he might steal another motorcycle, and we don't want us to be seen as if boda boda operators are thieves," the operators said.

Gitonga, who pleaded for mercy as the crowd confronted him, promised to abandon theft and return to Mbeere with his wife and newborn child.

"I will not steal again. Let me go home with my wife and my little baby," he said.

Njiru, who rents out motorcycles to operators who remit daily earnings, said the suspect had narrowly escaped death, adding that there were other legitimate ways of earning a living.

"Petrol to set him on fire was here, but it is good residents gave him marching orders to his native land in Mbeere. Let him not steal again; he has escaped death by a whisker," Njiru said.

The operators said their main concern was recovering the stolen motorcycle and denied intending to take the law into their own hands, although the confrontation had escalated to threats of lynching.

Police officers from Kagio Police Station were at the scene as the operators recovered the motorcycle. The operators, however, said they did not want to get involved in police matters and were focused on retrieving their property.

The incident comes amid concerns over motorcycle theft in the area, with boda boda operators calling for action against those involved in the vice.