The East AfricanNewsEast Africa Reckless motorcyclists run amok in Kampala, leaving families in agony

A daughter of assistant minister is among victims of motorcycle accident as police say four out of five accidents registered in a day involve boda bodas in Uganda’s capital city.

A few minutes past 8pm on a Friday evening in the month of October, a Uganda minister’s daughter was riding on a boda boda, returning from a farewell party organised for her by friends after scooping a study place at a university in Massachusetts, USA, when the cyclist rammed into a lorry, a few metres from the minister’s home in the upscale suburb of Ntinda, in Kampala.

Belinda Birungi, 23, died hours later. Her death resurrected the debate on whether the country can manage the lawless, rowdy and energetic young men running a big percentage of the transport industry using their motorcycles.

Uganda Parliament Speaker Anita Among immediately ordered the deputy inspector of Police Maj-Gen Geoffrey Tumusiime Katsigazi to tame boda boda riders. “We face a crisis, especially on Kampala roads as a result of reckless boda boda riders. We must address it forthwith. You need to take critical steps to reverse this devastating trend and save lives on our roads,” Ms. Among said during a meeting with Maj-Gen Katsigazi shortly after.

She was joined by other senior government officials in condemning the recklessness of the riders.

Sadly, Belinda joined the statistics of thousands of people who have lost their lives, sources of livelihood, limbs or have had permanent disabilities as a result of boda bodas.