Ugandans could be the most biased people in the world. I have not been to the rest of the world but even when I do, I will remember how hard it is to live amongst Ugandans.
I have been riding a small motorcycle for the past week. You know the small kind called Vespa that is commonly ridden by Indians. They look different from the Japanese Pasola. I love bikes. I prefer the bigger ones, though. It’s also not the prettiest bike I have owned.
Even my first bike, a Bajaj Boxer, had a better look. Unfortunately, it left scars on my body. So, how did I end up with a ka bike made popular by the elders in the olden days and Indians in this era? My four-wheel DMC has issues. With operation fika salama in full force, the last thing I want is to be arrested.
I am trying to avoid a Christmas characterized by hakuna mchuzi in this kisanja hakuna mchezo. So, I made some calls and a friend lent to me his bike. He owns two ugly bikes.
During the first days, I struggled to balance the small tyres with the short handles. The gear lever being on the left hand made it harder. As I drove out of the gate, onlookers were left wondering whether I had ridden a bike before. I got a helmet with no visor.
People started calling me and sending me WhatsApp messages after seeing me on the road. Most messages ended with ‘lol’ (laughing out loud). This meant they found my current state funny.
I have been discriminated against. Suddenly, I am being tagged ‘from grace to grass’. What is happening is like downgrading from a Range Rover Sport to a pink Vitz. That’s when I decided to get a full-face helmet. That way, it was hard to tell. That’s when I realized people have bad feelings for some motorists.
As a nation, we should be ashamed of ourselves. The insults I have endured on the road will forever live with me. I was told to go and eat pepper instead of riding around on the ugly bike.
A taxi tout even went ahead to say that we ride small bikes because we have small baby makers. How did he know that? It must be just hatred that makes a dude driving a scrap car refer to my bike as an ugly thing.
Standing at Shs 5 million, it could buy two of his scrap cages. I had to remove the helmet and tell him to go and eat his mother’s something something. I then rode off. This prejudice needs to stop.
barangasam@gmail.com