Boda Boda banned from Kampala’s City Centre
At last Kampalans can now walk through city centre without hustle. All boda boda riders are required to reqister and get permanent stages. According to sources, this has been due; it is part of a bigger plan to decongest Kampala City.
According to the KCCA website, “the Boda Boda Free Zone will run along the following boundaries; Wampewo Roundabout – Jinja Road to Kitgum House junction – Access Road – Mukwano Road to Clock Tower – Kafumbe Mukasa Road – Kisenyi Road – Mackay Road – Kyaggwe Road – Watoto Church-Bombo Road – Wandegeya – Hajji Muda Kasule Road – Mulago roundabout – Kamwokya junction – Sturrock Road – Prince Charles Drive – Lugogo Bypass – Jinja Road – Wampewo Roundabout.”
Boda bodas are bicycles and motorcycle taxis commonly found in East Africa. While motorcycle taxis like motorcycles are present throughout Africa and beyond, the term boda boda is specific to East Africa.
In Kenya, they are more frequently called piki pikis. Their ubiquitous presence in East African cities is the result of a number of factors including an increasing demand for public transit, the ability to purchase motorcycles on credit, and an influx of cheap imports from Indian manufacturers like Bajaja
In the countries where they are present, they can provide transportation options to riders and job opportunities to drivers while at the same time resulting in an increase in road hazards and collisions and unnecessary injuries and deaths.
In Kampala, boda bodas can be found on every street, shooting between police cruisers and NGO vehicles stuck in never-ending traffic jams. Anyone who has been to Uganda’s capital knows these ubiquitous motorcycle taxies offer convenience and speed, taking you exactly where you need to go without having to squeeze into a minibus with thirteen other passengers or footing it on rough roads.
While boda boda trips have become as popular as minibus trips, they were never planned for. Moreover, drivers associations have often been used by politicians for campaigns and by security services for intelligence gathering and violence. As a result, many people today see boda bodas as, at best, a tolerable nuisance and, at worst, as criminals.