Boda-Bodas are by far the biggest security danger, facilitating Crimes in the City
Boda Boda cyclists now pose by far the biggest security danger not just to the ordinary folks on the streets of Kampala but even to the mighty and the powerful key figures in the country.
It is difficult to see how much this runaway boda boda industry, which now permeates every rural and urban corner of this country, has added to our economy. What we see is an upsurge in a section of Ugandans who work by breaking the law. For long, it was common knowledge that boda boda riders were used by state agencies to trail and report on the activities of the opposition; now, they are increasingly available for hire in assassination missions and high-profile robberies.
Boda bodas are a popular form of transportation in Uganda, particularly in urban areas where they are often used to navigate through congested traffic. However, there have been concerns raised about their use in facilitating crime, including shootings. In recent years, there have been several high-profile cases of shootings carried out by assailants on boda bodas. These incidents have been attributed to various factors, including the ease with which boda bodas can navigate through traffic and escape after committing a crime, the lack of regulation and oversight of the boda boda industry, and the potential involvement of boda boda riders in criminal activities.
The Ugandan government has taken steps to address these concerns, including the introduction of a registration system for boda boda operators, the requirement for boda boda riders to wear reflective jackets with identification numbers, and the establishment of a special police unit to investigate crimes committed by boda boda riders.
Over the weekend unknown assailants riding on a motorcycle gunned Ibrahim Tusuubira, better known by the aliases Isma Olaxess and Jajja Iculi, on Saturday 6th May, 2023 at around 9.20pm in Kyanja in Kampala’s Kawempe Division. The attackers who killed popular social media influencer and critic shot him dead using a pistol and not sub-machine gun as initially claimed. Investigators have turned spent cartridges they retrieved from the scene of crime for ballistic analysis to establish if the gun used is already finger-printed and belonging to a security agency or one in private possession. They also used sniffer dogs at the crime scene to trace the shooters and recovery material of evidential value. Police declined to divulge what they found. As the inquiries gained pace yesterday Sunday, detectives turned to owners of residences with private Closed-Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras for footages that may have captured the images of the assailants on arrival or during escape. The assailants, according to accounts by individuals who identified themselves as witnesses, waylaid their victim in an isolated area of a fenced neighbourhood as his chauffeur Mathias Wasswa took him home.
However, these measures put in place by Government have not been completely effective in curbing crime involving boda bodas. There is still a need for ongoing efforts to regulate and monitor the boda boda industry and address the underlying factors that contribute to crime, including poverty, unemployment, and social inequality.
