There is confusion in downtown Kampala as unknown people are impounding motorcycles from Boda boda riders along Namirembe road.
Media reports on Thursday afternoon said the unidentified enforcement men are likely to be checking for Boda boda 2010 Identity cards.
This follows Police chief Gen Kale Kayihura public announcement in the city suburb of Kulambiro on Sunday that there is a protracted row between police and city hall undergirded by politics and fight over control of money-making outfits.
IGP Kayihura surprised many by his public criticism of KCCA executive director Jennifer Musisi marked a peak in disagreement between the institutions.
Gen Kayihura accused KCCA of causing mayhem in the city by first disbanding the Uganda Taxi Operators and Drivers Association (UTODA) against police advice, and now planning to disband Boda Boda 2010 group led by Abdallah Kitatta.
Members of the Boda Boda group, Gen Kayihura said, helped security agencies to stop riots in Kampala, but that after things turned in government’s favour, some people now want to drive the riders out of work.
“Some people who are making noise about them…are seeing that things have cooled down and they have eaten to satiety, so they want to burn the granary,” he said.
KCCA plans effective next year to stop boda boda riders from operating within the central business district as part of wider efforts to bring order in the inner-city but police are opposed to it, saying it will lead to unemployment and insecurity.
Boda boda 2010 is an organisation aligned to the ruling NRM party. Its members, in the run-up to and after last year’s elections, were accused of working alongside police to whip Opposition supporters during demonstrations.
Thursday’s arrests could be the start of a KCCA clampdown on Boda boda 2010.
Watch this space!
