Bodaboda riders in Kitengela cite fuel discrimination amid fears of defaulting on loans

As fuel shortage continues to hit most parts of the country, Kitengela bodaboda operators are protesting over discrimination by a few fuel dealers.

Agitated riders claim that the few fuel outlets which have the now rare commodity are prioritizing motorists and telling off bodaboda riders.

“We are not happy with how the little fuel is being sold. Some petrol stations are prioritizing motorists and telling us off,” Eliud Meriti, a bodaboda rider claimed.

According to the riders, some outlets have limited them to up to Ksh200 worth of fuel.

“We are seeing motorists fuel up to Ksh4, 0000 per person but for us, we are limited to Ksh200. This is not fair,” Alex Ong’wen said.

The riders are now calling on the government to give a clear roadmap of what is expected in the near future regarding fuel supply saying the shortage has adversely affected their business.

“Some of us have packed our motorcycles because we have no access to fuel at all, and we would be delighted to get a clear directive on this,” Earnest Mutunga said.

The riders say that if the fuel crisis continues, some of them will lose their motorbikes for failure to repay their outstanding loans.

“Besides eking a living from offering bodaboda services, a big number of the motorcycles have outstanding loans. It means we will default on the loans and lose the motorbikes to auctioneers if we cannot manage to work that,” John Kombe said.

A spot-check by K24 Digital has established that some petroleum outlets have limited fueling to Ksh1,000 per motorist.