Motorbikes belonging to boda boda operators parked at Nyayo Stadium, Nairobi on July 25, 2022.
The attack was incredulously daring.
The cross-border raid was carried out by a gang of boda boda riders oblivious of the diplomatic protocol that has made it difficult for Kenyan law enforcement officers to resolve several cases of cross-border theft of motorcycles.
Usually, officers end the chase of a motorcycle thief as soon as the culprit crosses the border. But not these riders. In their pursuit of justice, they were not going to be stopped by such abstract concepts as sovereignty.
The riders had suspected Andre Lomilo Husim, a Ugandan whose home was 150 metres from the border, of stealing their motorcycle. The darkness of the night provided a perfect cover for the panga-wielding gang to launch a surprise attack on their target. To get into Uganda, they used an unofficial entry point that has been popular for smuggling contraband.
When they got to Husim’s house, they smashed the door using a big stone. He was inside with his wife. They asked him to produce the motorbike he had stolen, and when he didn’t, they beat him up, the wife told Uganda’s Daily Monitor.
They then tied him to the motorbike and dragged him on the tarmac road to the Kenyan side from where they brutally murdered him. His body, bearing multiple stab wounds, was found the following day near Kiwanja Ndege, Busia Kenya.
Motorcycle theft is a significant problem in the Kenya-Uganda border area, particularly in Busia town. Frustrated with the slow pace of law enforcement agencies in resolving these cases, most boda boda riders have decided to take the law into their own hands. The porous nature of the border, coupled with the high demand for motorcycles in both countries, makes this area a hotspot for such criminal activities.
On the same night Husim was murdered, another Ugandan identified as Wandera narrowly escaped death after being abducted by the same gang on accusation of stealing a motorcycle. Wandera was rescued by the Kenyan police.
Busia town
Kevin Were, the chairman of boda boda operators at Bubango Stage, blames the laxity of law enforcement agencies on the increased theft of motorcycles and does not think thieves should be spared. He says that several people have sold their cows and assets to invest in motorcycles.
“And then you find that the motorcycle is gone, your child is not going to school. And that is after spending all the days being rained on. And then when I find someone who has stolen my bike you say I should not kill him,” says Were. “And the thief, if you refuse to give him the bike he slashes you to death.”
The boda boda is at the heart of the economy of Busia town. And just as the towns on either side of the border are a monolith, populated by the same community, so are the boda boda operators. And rightly so. Families here have homes in both countries. Indeed, the term boda boda, which has since found its way into the Oxford dictionary, came from Busia, Uganda.
But this sameness does not extend to security, with law enforcers unable to burst the cross-border syndicate of motorcycle theft, not just on the Kenya-Uganda border at Busia, but also in other border areas such as Loitoktok, Namanga and Isebania that border Tanzania.
Many of the motorbikes stolen in Busia are taken to Uganda across River Suo. It is River Suo, and beacons inscribed “Uganda” and “Kenya”, which separate the two countries. Many boats here charge Sh100 to ship a motorbike across the border.
“There are askaris on both sides of the border, but they do not inquire about the motorcycle, they are only concerned with luggage, should you be smuggling contraband,” says Clement Ochieng, a boda boda operator.
Sleeping on the job
The boda boda operators feel let down by the authorities. They especially blame the village elder and chief for sleeping on their jobs, especially when it comes to implementing the Nyumba Kumi concept. Nyumba Kumi is a community-based security initiative that involves the formation of groups of 10 households in a neighbourhood, which work together to promote security.
“What they know best is when food from the government has arrived. That is when you will hear them tell people, ‘Come and get food,’” says Were.
Kenyan motorbikes are said to be valuable in Uganda, which is why it is largely the Kenyan motorbikes that are stolen and not the other way around. The script is the same in Isebania, Migori County.
A police officer who has handled several cases of motorcycle theft said the fact that people move freely between the two countries, largely because they are related, has been a source of headache for them.
“Most of the people have dual citizenship. So, if they commit a crime here they become Tanzanians,” says the police officer, who declined to be named as he is not allowed to speak to the media.
Some of the motorcycles that the police in Isebania have intercepted have been stolen from as far as Kisii County.
But there is some light at the end of the tunnel as authorities from both sides of the borders begin to cooperate in the fight against this syndicate.
“When we arrest a suspect, we go to the Tanzanian authorities who help us with the investigation,” says the police officer.
Ugandan authorities are also increasingly cooperating with their Kenyan counterparts to recover stolen bikes.
