Boda boda or motor cycles have continued to be considered as a better option when it comes beating traffic jam at peak hours and a much quicker means of public transport. This is the perception that robbers have now capitalised on to diversify their lucrative trade that has seen many loose their prestigious gadgets, beaten to pulp and some stabbed to near and or death with over 30 reported cases over the past one month.
A recent research into this matter indicates how the victims are targeted in areas and communities near university hostels which makes the suggestion that ‘the robbers are targeting youths and Campus students’ hold some water.
In a much recent incident, on Friday 18th, May 2018, a Makerere University alumni only identified as Priscilla was stabbed to near death by boda boda robbers around corridors leading to Nana hostel. After a successful operation, Priscilla was able to narrate the unfortunate events before getting stabbed.
“I was from a show with my laptop bag which I wanted to leave at a friend’s place opposite Nana hostel. The boda guy started talking on phone moment we crossed the Sir Apollo Kaggwa road junction in a way that seemed like he was telling someone to get ready, something I didn’t understand that he was communicating with his thugs to get ready for me. Reaching here, as I tried to pay him, a man came talking on phone and struggled to take my bag, I fought back thinking my boda guy will support me, he didn’t. I got stabbed. The thug jumped on the boda and they rode off.” – Priscilla narrated the ordeal moments after her successful operation.
Like her, another student at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) lost his phone to boda boda thugs earlier last week. He also narrates that his boda guy started talking on phone moments before stopping the bike in a dark corner as he was heading back to his hostel after a long day at campus.
“The boda guy started talking on phone and I paid less attention to it. He then stopped in a dark corner pretending that the bike had got a mechanical problem only for a guy to grab me from the back and reached out for my pocket to take my phone. I tried to throw it in a fence nearby but it didn’t reach. They picked it and ran off with the boda guy.”
These and more, are just but a few of the many students that have suffered at the hands of the boda thugs who are increasingly terrorising unsuspecting campus students.
How to avoid thugs disguising as boda boda riders
1. They avoid gazetted boda boda stages and often isolate themselves. Try taking a boda from a gazetted stage if you’re travelling late in the night.
2. They use a figurative language when talking on phone along the way. This is a way of confusing you while alerting their criminal partners. Make an excuse and get a way of safely jumping off that boda once you hear that.
3. They often ask you about what time it is just to see if you will check on your phone, by this, they get to know where you’ve kept it just so they can easily alert the thugs on where to aim. Try not to pull out your phone while travelling at night.
4. As much as I don’t intend to make any advert for transporting companies, it is a bit safe travelling with registered companies like Uber, Safe boda, Taxify, Quick taxi among others while travelling late in the night. As long as the government is still failing to register boda boda riders and giving them some kind of identification, crimes like these are bound to happen. While at this, take note of the drivers plate or identification number. This can help you once reporting the case to operatives.
