Shoot boda boda killers- Jinja RDC directs Police

Boda boda riders gather at the scene were Sadat Wandera was killed and his motorcycle taken by robbers near YMCA hostel in Magwa Parish in Jinja. Photo by Moses Okeya

Jinja Resident District Commissioner (RDC), Mr Eric Sakwa, has directed police to shoot dead whoever is caught red-handed killing boda boda riders.

Mr Sakwa gave the bizarre directive on Sunday after a 28-year-old boda boda rider was killed and robbed of his motorcycle on Saturday.

Sadat Mulyowa Wandera, a resident of Kitove Village, Mafubira  Sub-county in Jinja District, was beaten to death by hammer-welding passengers who later fled with his motorcycle registration number UES 499G.

“We are tired of thieves stealing and killing boda boda cyclists. Whoever is caught (in the act) should be shot dead. We shall perform an autopsy after we have killed them," Mr Sakwa, who heads security in the district, said in a telephone interview.

The Chairperson of Jinja Boda Boda operators, Mr Eria Musobya, said the deceased was murdered by the criminals who pretended to be passengers heading to Magwa.

"They turned against him and murdered him near YMCA Hostel. This crime has shocked the boda boda fraternity in Jinja who thought such murders were only happening elsewhere," Mr Musobya said.

The Chairperson Bata Boda Boda Stage in Jinja Town, Mr Ibrahim Kiwanuka, asked government to install CCTV cameras in Jinja Town like they have done in Kampala. This, he said, will capture faces of those who steal their motorcycles.

“Motorcycle thieves are running to Jinja because Kampala is fitted with CCTV cameras. We also ask government to install cameras in this town, not to only help the boda bodas, but also curb other criminal activities," Mr Kiwanuka said.

He said that once such thieves are arrested, they should be killed, warning that once taken into police custody, they would be given bond and begin from where they stopped.

The boda boda industry has recently been rocked by a spate of murders, notably that of Derrick Mulindwa in Rubaga, a Kampala suburb, which was captured on CCTV and the video went viral.

Mr Sakwa also asked boda boda riders to always furnish security operatives with information because some of them know these groups, where they sleep and to whom they sell the stolen motorcycles.

Following Mr Wandera's death, fellow riders rode his body through the streets of Jinja Town while demonstrating the manner in which their colleague was killed.

Efforts to get a comment from the Regional Police Commander, Mr Paul Nkore, were futile as he didn't answer or return our calls by press time. He was however quoted by another media outlet as saying investigations are underway.