Boda boda cyclists in Kira municipality want to meet President Museveni over continued lockdown that has left them with no source of income to cater for their families.
On Monday, President Museveni said restrictions on boda bodas, schools, religious gatherings, hawkers, arcades, salons and curfew among others would continue as the country continues to ease the lockdown.
Museveni said that if the boda bodas are allowed to transport people at this stage of the infection it may lead to further spread of the virus and may be worsened by the challenge of tracing for their contacts.
Julius Byarugaba, the Speaker of the Boda Boda Association which represents over 2,000 cyclists says that there is an increase in domestic violence because men are failing to take care of their families after the lockdown affected their daily income.
On Thursday, the association petitioned the Speaker of Parliament Rebecca Kadaga and asked her to intervene in the matter.
Byarugaba says that meeting the President will enable him to understand the rationale of opening up the industry. He says the President’s advisors could be misleading him.
He said: “It would make more meaning because we have the emotions to show him and the real rational of why we are pushing this as boda boda riders. The other people advising him may not have had a chance of riding on a boda boda or don’t know that many Kampala people operate on a boda boda. Actually, our economy is running on a boda boda because you can run to town, buy something and sell it to some body, you can have an appointment and meet it. We believe if we talk to the President, we have the best reasons that can make him lift the ban on the boda bodas.”
The chairperson of the Association Bosco Buziba says that they are willing to ensure that all their passengers and riders follow the standard operating procedures which include carrying sanitizers and wearing face masks.
Kadaga told the cyclists that she is already handling the matter.
