Intro:
Since this is the first post from my Boda Boda tales series, let me tell you how it all started. I was on a Boda Boda heading to a school to pick back slips to pay fees for my nieces and nephews, when I started having one of those long conversations we have. This only happens if you find another free soul like yourself and you decide to chat along the way as opposed to the silence.
Working Definition for foreigners; a Boda Boda is a customer service motorcycle used in Uganda mostly in urban areas to make movement between short or distant places fast. The means of transportation is said to have got its name from the days when smugglers used to employ it to cross from border to border hence the ‘boda boda’ name. Outside the city center and urban areas, it is used in villages to carry passengers especially to places which are beyond the reach of matatus (another passenger service van.) Also, the bicycle is given the same name all across Uganda.
Now that we are on the same page. Let’s get to the short story.
The Boda Boda man had agreed to take me to the school at a fair of 2000 Uganda shillings. I figured, if I convinced him, he could take me to the back for an extra 1000 shillings. Of course given the chit-chat we were having about the recently concluded elections and how the mood around town is somber, he agreed.
This man, whose name I did not get decided to tell me a story to emphasize that we can not ever be satisfied about the same thing equally. He used the analogy of the fingers and said that, as much as they are all fingers, they are not equal in size, shape and length. I nodded from the back seat. According to him, even if we get another president, it is impossible that everyone would be happy. I then asked him whether he felt the service deliver by the current government is good enough. All of this happens in Luganda.
He says, “When my father died, I used to wonder whether I would ever own a bicycle. Life was so hard, I never knew whether I would make it.” He had got my soft spot. I love stories – the telling and listening to them. I was following intently. In my heart, I was already thanking God for the far He had brought this guy whose name I did not know. The thing is, it is useless to find out the name when you probably won’t ever meet the same Boda Boda man unless they are stationed at a place you frequent.
Let us give our Boda Boda man a name. Let’s call him Kabanda. Kabanda told me that he worked hard until he got a bicycle. His excitement as he told the story was clearly visible. Later, he managed to build a permanent structure of his own, something he never imagined possible. Now, he also has his own motorcycle (sometimes also known as a Boda Boda).
Mr Kabanda told that even if Kizza Besigye had been declared the president, we would still need to work hard and that no president was capable of dishing out money to people. (Silently, my mind took me to the claims that a certain political party was soliciting for votes using taxpayer’s money. I did not mention this because I wanted to hear his thoughts.) He said that wealth creation is entirely dependent on our efforts. I agreed with him but reminded him that the government has a mandate to make these conditions favorable for her citizens. Otherwise, why then do they exist if they can’t do that?
Our friend Mr Kabanda was silent for a moment. I asked him whether in his opinion it is okay that one man should rule for more that 30 years and hold elections that even Kabanda didn’t think was free and fair. He had told me that he thinks, every incumbent in Africa cheats in elections. To respond to me, he said, Al Shaabad was threatening the peace of Uganda and that Yoweri Kaguta Museveni was the only one capable of handling them.
He went on to matter certain other things but my mind was now wandering far and wide. I was thinking about the movie “Our Brand Is Crisis.” You need to watch it if you are a brand enthusiast like me and if you enjoying the games people play in politics. In the movie, when the incumbent needed to be elected, they decided to sell the brand, ‘crisis to the population. One of my takeaways from it was the quote, “When the people need hope, they vote for the opposition but if they are scared, they vote for a strong, stable leader.” I am tempted to think that this is why a good number of Ugandans voted for Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.
I know some of you would wish to say Museveni lost miserably. I think, if he indeed lost, he must have garnered like 39 percent , then Besigye like 55% and Amama Mbabazi taking the remaining majority followed by Abed Bwanika and the rest almost nothing. At least that’s the impression I got from studying the masses in Ugandan urban and village areas.
The Boda Boda came to a halt when we reached the bank. It was almost closing time. I had to make my way in. I thanked him. Let him have the 500 shillings change. Thanked him for riding me and with a big smile waved him away.
Until next the next Boda Boda Tales story, have yourselves a wonderful time. Try talking to these guys. The have nice stories.
Son Of Olwa 
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