11/4/21: getting round Kampala on the back of a boda

It was about 2 months after arriving in Dar es Salaam back in 2012 that I went to a meeting in Arusha. As we were travelling in the city, I remarked upon a group of motorcycles on the side of the road, and it was explained to me that these were ‘boda boda’ (or just boda), people paid for a ride on the back of the motorcycle. Oh, that’s interesting, says I. And they’re in Dar es Salaam as well. Oh really?

When I returned to Dar es Salaam I immediately started seeing boda, which raises the question as to how I could have been there for 2 months already and not noticed them. There are answers here, of course: at the time I just had not imagined the possibility that motorcycles could be taxis, so if I saw one I just assumed that it was the owner plus a friend. I like to think that, had I started my time in East Africa here in Kampala, even somebody as obtuse as me could not fail to miss what was going on:

But of course, what starts off as strange quickly becomes normal, when I was in Uganda in August 2019, staying in Luwero Town and visiting Kampala Christian Orphanage in Wobulenzi most days, by road about 1/2 hour:

I took it for granted that the way to travel was by boda. Now that I’m living in Kampala, not running a car, able during the normal working week to get where I need to go – school, church, supermarkets, etc. – by foot, I again took it for granted that when I needed to go further afield I would use a boda. So, back in November, the first question when I came out of self-isolation was, how do I find a boda driver. Denis, our askari (security guard), who features in my first blog post and has been helping me with my YouTube channel, “A minute a day to pray” put me in touch with Michael, in the photograph with me at the top of this post, and it’s mostly been Michael I’ve been calling on ever since. Thank you, Denis, for the introduction and thank you, Michael, for all your help since then!

Two things before I continue. Firstly, where the term ‘boda’ comes from. ‘Boda’ is short for ‘boda boda’ which in turn is short for ‘border to border’. Uganda, of course, is landlocked:

It used to be the case that when one crossed a national border by road there was a distance of about 200 metres between the two country border posts, over which passengers in coaches would need to get off and unload all their luggage. So a variety of vehicles, including motorcycles, would be offered for hire to get people that distance of 200 metres from border to border. So the term ‘boda boda’ which has been generalised to mean a taxi on a motorcycle.

The other thing to say is that, for the purposes of this blog post, I made a video from the back of Michael’s motorbike yesterday, so the video clips are from that ride. So, here we go, wish us luck!

The ride starts from Michael’s stage:

which is opposite the International Hospital, Kampala, about 5 minutes walk from where I’m living:

The stage has a total of about 20 riders with remarkably low turnover, there have only been 5 changes to the membership over the last 10 years. New members need to go before a committee and buy their place, which they can then sell when the time comes. So, from a customer point of view, best way to get a boda is to have an established relationship with a small number (in my case, 1) riders whom you trust. Next best is to go to a stage, the reputation of stages is very important to the riders, they won’t stand for any nonsense!

There are a number of reasons for preferring boda to other forms of transport. It has been raining a lot recently, and the state of the roads has been deteriorating, easier to navigate pot holes on two wheels rather than 4:

Don’t need to get stuck in traffic jams:

You don’t need to worry too much about traffic lights:

or one way systems:

I would say also that, whilst I have seen the police stopping cars and larger vehicles many times:

I can’t remember ever seeing the police stopping a boda. All in all, a jolly good way to travel, I hope you’ll agree! If you’re feeling brave, the below is the entirety of the video that I made, about 7 mins 30 secs, stops abruptly when my phone just stopped recording. Hope you like the added music. Enjoy!

So, that’s the ride, what about the rider? Michael was born in a village called Bugangari, Rukungiri District in the South West of Uganda, not far from the border with the Democratic Republic of Congo:

He got as far as O levels at the age of 16, whilst he wanted to continue in education he had to leave because of lack of money. He then moved to Kampala to find employment, and initially worked in canteens, then selling scratch cards for mobile phones (now superseded by electronic methods of paying) and renting out a phone for people who wanted to make a call but didn’t have their own phone.

Through friends he got into boda riding in 2009. After a while he switched to taxi driving (‘private hire’) but for a number of reasons that did not work out so he returned to boda riding. Given the choice he would want to do something else, ideally back in Bugangari which is where his family is, one possibility he is interested in is working as a wholesale grocer. Apart from anything else, there are health risks attached to being a boda rider, you might also spare a thought for street vendors who spend their lives working in heavy traffic:

Of course, setting up a wholesale business will take some capital, one option is to find a job in the United Arab Emirates, maybe as a security guard or cleaner, for two years which enables Ugandan people to save money whilst spending most of their time working.

You’ll appreciate that a good bit of the information in this blog, both about boda riding generally and also about Michael himself, has come from Michael, I really appreciate his time in talking to me about these things. In the first video clip above I showed you a huge number of boda all together. Talking to Michael is a good reminder that each and every one of those riders is an individual, loved by God, with a story to tell, with family, needs, wants and ambitions. Having got to know Michael a little over the last few months I’m confident that he can make a success of his ambitions and wish him well for the future. For the time being, though, very pleased to employ his services as my boda rider. Thank you, Michael, really appreciate it!