Civilians, breakdown trucks gang up with police to extort bodas during “clean up” exercise
The rampant chaos on the streets of Kampala is so distressing that a crackdown on traffic offenders was inevitable. Boda bodas, who are well known for breaking all traffic rules with highly maneuverable vehicles, scarce safety training, and little to no protection, are a major contributor to road crash fatalities.
Boda riders usually get training from friends and relatives who provide them with neither proper training nor driving licenses but welcome them to the streets to carry passengers as soon as they acquire the motorcycles. So for nearly a month now, the police have embarked on operations to put the chaos under control, arresting boda riders and impounding around 1,600 motorcycles — leading to widespread extortion as police negotiate personal bribes to let the bodas go free, and civilians work with the police to profit.
On a regular day in Kampala, police officers flag down boda riders who do not wear helmets and those who carry excess passengers, ignoring drivers licenses and insurance issues — as only around 26% of Kampala riders have licenses and 20% have insurance. This month, however, the enforcement has been extended to all road traffic rules including possession of a driving license and third-party insurance.
However, boda riders are familiar with the situation and are applying the usual survival tactics. “This is not new, and we shall not be intimidated,” said Vicent, a boda rider in Kampala Central. “We know they want money!”
What happens during every crackdown is daylight extortion where police officers openly ask for bribes from errant road users. This leads to widespread distrust of government-led road safety efforts amongst boda riders, undermining their success and ensuring the same exercise will be repeated six months later.
In order to understand the lack of trust in the system, we must meet the people who create the system.
John Magoola — not his real name — a former boda rider who used to work from Central Division, told Lubyanza that he works with police officers to arrest boda riders. Though not a policeman himself, John stands at busy junctions where he stops boda riders and hands them over to the present police officer.
The arrested boda riders then negotiate with the police officer who may release them after receiving the agreed amount of money. Boda riders who fail to raise the amount that the officer wants watch helplessly as their motorcycles are loaded on breakdown tracks and taken to the nearby police stations.
At the police stations, the traffic offenders are often asked to pay for the respective penalties plus the breakdown charges. “The bodaman may pay 30,000 UGX for the breakdown services but actually the breakdown guys take 15,000 UGX for every impounded motorcycle,” said John. “Sometimes many of us are involved and we all have to share the remaining amount.”
While arresting traffic offenders looks to outsiders like a promising move towards road safety, the policemen, breakdown trucks, and civilians like John benefit directly from the ongoing failure to create a permanent solution, instead preferring to keep the chaotic environment that enables extortion. So they apply the counterproductive actions which keep Kampala’s roads unsafe, while the government gets to wave a hand claiming they are cracking down on the errant boda riders.
