Kenyans mounted pressure on tax hailing Company Bolt Kenya after one of its drivers was caught pants down – literally speaking, with the firm announcing that it had suspended the suspect.
Bolt came under heavy scrutiny after the video surfaced on the internet of the cab driver exposing himself.
“Bolt, as part of its zero tolerance to this type of behavior, has suspended the mentioned driver from providing any further services on our platform,” Bolt Kenya stated in their reply to the video.
The video, which was shared by former Nairobi governor Mike Sonko on his X (Twitter) account, captured the driver behave indecently, showing his member to two female passengers.
The two, shaken by the transpiring events, asked the driver to drop them off immediately.
Mike Sonko went ahead to call out the driver stating that such behavior cannot be tolerated.
“This conduct should not be tolerated, and I urge anyone with more information or has faced a similar ordeal to come forward so that we can protect our mothers, daughters, or family members,” Mike Sonko stated on his X (Twitter) account.
Additionally, he called on female cab users to be careful when using taxis stating that cases of sexual harassment on these means of transport are unfortunately quite common.
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“Let this video act as an educational and send warning to young ladies to be extremely cautious before boarding cabs, especially when vulnerable or unaccompanied,” Mike Sonko noted.
Bolt Kenya Responds
Bolt Kenya responded to the video, condemning the act.
They also stated that it was in communication with the affected passengers, reiterating that their customers safety is Bolt Kenya’s top priority.
“We are also actively engaging with the affected rider, and once again take this opportunity to express our sincere concern and empathy over this unfortunate incident,” the digital taxi hailing company further noted.
“At Bolt, the safety of our drivers and passengers remains our highest priority. We remain committed to vigilance and swift response in handling such incidents,” Bolt reiterated on their safety policies when handling their customers.
Previous incidents
This incident came months after another incident occurred where two female passengers were kidnapped after allegedly using the Bolt app to request a ride.
The two young ladies went missing on June 4 after attending a house party in Nairobi’s Westlands area.
After the party, the two requested a ride to Kilimani, who letter sped off, threatening to harm them.
They were, however, rescued in an operation conducted by a joint team of sleuths drawn from the Crime Research and Intelligence Bureau.
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Bolt spoke out on the matter asking riders to be careful when using their app.
“We strongly discourage the use of vehicles that do not match the details on the platform, as this was one of the issues that led to this unfortunate incident. To address this, we show riders the driver and car verification details when they request a ride,” Bolt Kenya stated.
