It's easy to assume that the name boda-boda came about as a spot of onomatopoeia; an attempt to capture the noise of the bikes' burbling engines. But a quick search online reveals that's not the case.

Uganda’s boda boda bikes are deadly polluters: study models how going electric could save lives. Gabriel Okello, University of Cambridge. Wed, April 9, 2025 at 4:13 PM UTC. 5 min read.

Police said the canine unit tracked a scent from the crime scene to a nearby residence, resulting in the arrest of 39-year-old Joseph Opendi, also a boda boda rider and resident of Agururu B2 Cell.

Kenya’s “Boda Girls” are turning a male-dominated industry upside down. Their favored customers are pregnant women needing rides to the hospital.

One of the difficulties is that, for many, boda-bodas are a convenient, fast and cheap way to get around, and a convenient tool for the political class during an election year.

“All the boda boda riders must have a driving permit, the 3rd party insurance, PSV licence, a log book, an operational licence issued by KCCA, and a stage they are attached to,” he added.

In August 2020 he set up the boda-boda information management system which was meant to keep records on all operators nationwide and thus inject some sanity into the industry.