Sometime in 2005, I met an OB of mine astride a bike on a boda boda stage in Kampala.
In a dark, heavy jacket, under the scotching sun, he looked haggard. Streams of sweat running down his cheeks had created tiny pathways through the fine film of dust that had settled on his skin. Having been an A-student at high school, I was dumbfounded by how such a fine brain could be reduced to boda boda riding.
We moved under a shade to catch up with the old times. I would quickly learn that he was not a boda boda rider in the traditional sense, but an informant. He was an undercover agent; an intelligence gatherer for the government of Uganda. His terrible look was actually a performative part of his posting.
As we parted, he pleaded with me to beware of my utterances as not all boda boda riders were actually boda boda riders. Growing up in the countryside where boda boda riding had been associated with school dropouts – mostly unserious and undisciplined chaps – my OB’s revelations showed me another side of the industry.
It was singer Elly Wamala in the 1990s, whose song, Boda Boda, praised the advent of motorcycle taxis in Uganda. In this song, Wamala exalts boda bodas for providing employment to the poor, and easing mobility for commuters. Arguing that motorcycle taxis had potential to trigger development, Wamala’s rather generous appraisal sought to counter claims that these bikes had become a terrible mess in Kampala.
Wamala was lyrical: Riders asked for small monies for an otherwise good service. Unlike bicycles, bike seats were comfortably cushioned for our bottoms. The bikes also squeezed through small driveways, in addition to steadily riding steeps.
Wamala was also impressed that boda bodas were a safer means of transport for night travelers as they quickly reached their destinations, avoiding robbers, and iron-bar hitmen. Wamala’s melodies rocked.
Coming on the heels of the Structural Adjustment Programme, which had systematically made small-scale farming unattractive, motorcycle taxis came to be seen as a ray of hope in terms of both business and employment. Indeed, many young men and women sold their otherwise ‘unproductive’ land to procure motorbikes.
Banks were willing to offer loans to potential riders. Investors – rich individuals – bought new bikes for unemployed youths who could not afford buying their own, and these would return a commission on a daily or weekly basis.
Sometimes, fully established companies such as Tugende Ltd emerged and loaned bikes to riders who would own the bikes after a period of returning regular commission. Discursively and financially, it was a fairytale. Elly Wamala had even inspiringly prophesied bike riders being able to afford brand new vehicles at the end of the day.
A couple of years down the road, the industry evolved. Wamala’s boda boda tale of romance and novelty became untenable as the industry became associated with all the wrong things. As the surge in numbers reduced profitability, frustrated riders turned to crime and hooliganism.
Petty theft of especially mobile phones and women’s handbags defined their blighted lives. Sexual promiscuity, rowdy behavior and general indiscipline became a part of their collective public identity.
Because riders are often untrained, and with clients in haste, motorcycle taxis respected no traffic rules: they rode through traffic lights and rode on walkways, and broke through any security- traffic barriers.
The terrible result of this has been an astonishing rise of boda boda- related casualties in hospitals. Indeed, the overwhelmed national referral hospital at Mulago opened a special unit for boda boda emergencies.
As more unemployed youths joined the industry, the boda boda fairytale continued to nosedive. With plans of banning them from Kampala gaining momentum, they started hobnobbing with opposition politicians, which displeased government. President Museveni, through cash and regulatory concessions, fought to woo them on his side.
Having conscripted many into the security apparatus early enough, they were quickly transformed into ‘crowds-for-hire’ during political and security campaigns. Indeed, many have received bags of cash during election time.
With the president’s backing, they not only became untouchable, but also emerged as a center of power. With fully fledged structures such as Boda Boda 2010, they have direct access to the top security (inspector general of police) and leadership (the president) in the country – and can act with their utmost blessing.
Are they messy? Yes. Are they dangerous? Yes. Can they be better? No. Boda boda power is actually derived from the ability to be messy and dangerous. Their main client seems to like it.
The author is a PhD fellow at Makerere Instititude of Social Research.
