Boda boda riders vow to fight for right to work as Museveni extends ban on passenger transportation (VIDEO)

Commercial motorcycle riders (Bodaboda) have challenged the rationale Ministry of Health officers used to convince President Yoweri Museveni to bar them from transporting passengers again.

One of the leaders of a boda boda association, Frank Mawejje has accused President Museveni’s advisors of politicking to prevent commercial cyclists from returning to work. Mawejje heads Smart Bodas based in Kawempe, Kyebando-Nsoba.

President Museveni on Monday, June 22 insisted that boda boda riders will not be allowed to carry passengers.

President Museveni was addressing the nation at the end of another cycle of lockdown that started March 31, 2020, to curb the spread of Coronavirus in Uganda.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GiieYkbUuf0

He said that while boda boda riders had come up with the innovation of separation barriers on the motorcycle, this was not sufficient. President Museveni said that he had been advised by health officials that the separation barriers that are made of metal and plastic could actually aid in the spread of the Coronavirus. 

Mawejje, however, challenged that line of reasoning. The chairman of Smart Bodas argued that boda boda riders often wear helmets which already shield them and the passenger from exposure to each other’s breath. In addition to that, the separation barrier can be cleaned and sanitized as advised by the Ministry of Health in other business premises. 

Speaking on NBS TV’s Morning Breeze programme, Mawejje said that health ministry officials had not bothered to interact with boda boda riders and other people affected by the Covid-19 lockdown measures. 

He appealed to President Museveni and the parliament of Uganda to think about the plight of Ugandans who have not worked for four months since the lockdown was declared. He said that many of them had been forced to watch as their children and spouses turn into beggars at their neighbours. 

He asked Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga to examine the medical advisors who surround President Museveni and inform him on measures that affect all Ugandans. 

Journalist and businessman Andrew Mwenda has been one of the foremost proponents for allowing boda boda riders to return to work. He has argued that they are an intrinsic and trusted part of the major towns transport infrastructure who employ a sizable population.

https://twitter.com/andrewmwenda/status/1267546623057551362?s=21

Uganda has so far registered 805 confirmed cases of the Coronavirus and no deaths. 

The country started a phased lifting of the lockdown in June that saw a return of public transport, reopening of shopping malls and hotels and restaurants. Public transporters are compelled to carry half the usual number of passengers in their vehicles while public places have to have sanitizers on hand. All Ugandans are compelled to wear face masks in public.