How boda bodas fuel crime in towns

Kampala- Boda bodas have become a convenient way of transport in most towns in Uganda. In Kampala, they are especially preferred by those who want to rush to their destinations through a thick traffic jam, but they have added a new dimension to their trade as notorious conveyers or perpetrators of both petty and gruesome crime across urban areas.

The surge in the number of boda bodas bearing obscure number plates moving around freely and committing crime almost at will has become a security concern. Kampala is most hit by the new wave of boda boda crime.

Cases of boda boda crime in the country, according to police, have become widespread and security agencies are grappling with the problem.
In an interview with several traffic police officers, it emerged that criminal gangs have since resorted to using either unregistered, stolen or smuggled motorcycles to commit crime.

A police officer made this revelation in a letter to the Inspector General of Police (IGP), Gen Kale Kayihura, and the Commissioner General of Uganda Revenue Authority, Ms Doris Akol.

In the correspondence, which the Daily Monitor has seen, the police officer tells Gen Kayihura and Ms Akol that unless boda boda crime is checked urgently, it will degenerate into an unmanageable security threat in the near future.

“I am writing to inform you that I have carried out security investigation and I have found out that we are having hundreds of numberless or unlicensed motorcycles operating freely on the roads in Kampala and beyond,” reads the police officer’s letter.

“My suggestion is that a team comprising traffic police and URA enforcement team be formed to eliminate this problem,” the officer advises.
In an interview with Daily Monitor, the officer said efforts to crack down on the surging crime are undermined by senior officers in the Force who are reaping from the criminality.

He said some senior officers own unregistered motorcycles while others benefit from kitu kidogo (bribes) they receive from the criminals to let them off the hook.
The officer’s document also disclosed that most boda boda bearing handwritten number plates are either stolen or smuggled into the country.
After stealing the motorcycles, the original number plates are removed and replaced with altered and handwritten plates, which are then used to carry out crime.

Fears confirmed
In an interview, the chairman of boda bodas in Nakawa Division, Mr Rashid Kawawa, admitted that motorcycles without proper number plates are the biggest instruments the criminals use to terrorise and steal from people.

“There is no doubt that boda bodas that do not have number plates or bearing handwritten registration numbers are being used for criminal activities. This is because it is easy to change the number plate before committing another crime,” Mr Kawawa said.

“We have taken it upon ourselves to impound any boda boda without proper number plates because they are giving the rest of us a bad image. There are a few cases where one can lose his number plate but it only takes seven days to get another. There is no excuse for riding a boda boda without a registration number,” he states.
According to the police director for Traffic and Road Safety, Mr Stephen Kasiima, his directorate is only restricted to enforcing traffic and road safety laws to ensure safety of road users.

This implies cracking down boda bodas without registered number plates is not part of his docket.

“Our role is clear in the Traffic and Road Safety Act. Crimes such as stealing, assault and other capital offences are dealt with by our colleagues in the other departments of police such as CID, intelligence and counter-terrorism among others,” Mr Kasiima said.

However he that admitted boda boda crime has become a menace, but says it’s being addressed.
“Last year, we impounded 179 motorcycles with obscure number plates such as the handwritten ones which fall under the fake number plates. Altogether they paid a fine of Shs7.16m,” Mr Kasiima said.

He said this was in addition to impounding the motorcycles which were found carrying more than one passenger, without a valid permit or a crash helmet, being in dangerous mechanical condition and in hands of a drunken rider.

In 2016, 40,886 motorcycles, mostly boda bodas, were impounded by police and Mr Kasiima said it is erroneous to say his directorate is not doing enough to curb boda boda crime.

Kampala Metropolitan Police spokesperson, Mr Emilian Kayima, questioned the motive of the police officer who wrote the letter chronicling the boda boda crime.
He branded the officer as one of the disgruntled because the force is cracking the whip on them over extortion and corruption. Mr Kayima said the agenda and motive of the author of the letter is suspect.
However he admitted: “There [boda bodas] are more than we should ordinarily have, especially in Kampala and that is because they are not regulated.”

Way forward
Both Mr Kayima and Dr Kasiima called for the regulation of boda bodas. They also say the number of boda bodas needs to be reduced and riders should wear uniforms and be licensed.
Kampala Lord Mayor Erias Lukwago says there are plans to have a by-law to regulate boda boda operations in the city.
“We had initiated a process of passing this ordinance but Minister Beti Kamya halted the process on grounds that the business has many factions which must be disbanded,” Mr Lukwago said. “However, we have decided to pass this ordinance,” he added.

Law enforcement
The ordinance provides for having a common body, management, term of office, gazetting boda boda stages, data banks, taxation, areas of operation, and other general policies for boda boda operators.

Kampala Capital City Authority communications officer Robert Kalumba said the issue of regulating boda bodas is before Cabinet and police are taking a lead role, with the city administration supporting them.

Victims speak out
Ms Harriet Nabukenya, a resident of Bukasa, a Kampala suburb, recently had her handbag snatched as she headed back home from an outing with a friend.
In the handbag was her mobile phone, some money and her documents.

In another heinous case, Ms Mercy Nalugo, a journalist, was attacked by her transporter as she approached home.
After a busy day at office, Ms Nalugo picked a boda boda to drop her home. She soon realised she did not have enough money. So she asked the boda boda rider to pass via Makindye to enable her pick money from an ATM.

“I left my place of work at about 9pm. Normally, I take boda bodas parked around the office but on this particular day, I took one of those passing by,” Ms Nalugo narrates.
“When we reached Makindye, the ATM machines were off. I decided to wait at a nearby restaurant after being informed that the problem was being fixed. Eventually, I could not withdraw any money because the ATM just failed to work,” she adds.

She fumbled into her bag for a while and found some money to pay the boda boda rider who had dropped her at the ATM.
“By that time it was already approaching midnight. I decided to get another boda boda to drop me home, about a kilometre away,” Ms Nalugo says.
She did not know she was hiring a criminal who would later assault and rob her.

“Before reaching my gate, the man started rudely asking for money. I told him I am not a cheat and will pay upon arrival,” she says.
Then hell broke loose. The boda boda became hostile and demanded that Ms Nalugo pays him at once.

“He stopped riding and pulled me off the bike and started beating me up. My effort to put up a fight did not help as he continued pounding me with punches around my chest.
He then resorted to kicking me until he knocked me out. He grabbed my bag and rode off leaving me helpless in pain. In my bag were two phones, ATM cards and other valuables,” Ms Nalugo recounts.

Ms Joyce Namusisi, a resident of Kitintale in Kampala, also found herself in a similar predicament. Instead of delivering her to her destination, a boda-boda rider ushered her into an isolated spot, beat her up and robbed her clean.
The three incidents are just a tip of the iceberg. Many cases involving boda boda crime go unreported.
Many boda bodas turn against their passengers, beat, rape or rob them and in some cases even kill them.

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