Lira, Uganda | Lira City authorities have temporarily suspended enforcement operations against unregistered boda-boda riders following protests that paralysed business activities and traffic along the Lira-Soroti Road on Monday.
The decision was announced by Lira City Mayor Sam Atul during an emergency meeting held at the city council boardroom shortly after security agencies dispersed protesting riders who had blocked sections of the road around Uhuru Bar, Corner Bar and Angwetangwet.
The demonstrations, which lasted for nearly two hours, were reportedly sparked by the arrest of a boda-boda rider accused of failing to register with the city council under a mandatory registration programme that requires operators to pay UGX35,000.
Addressing journalists after the meeting, Atul said enforcement operations had been suspended to allow dialogue between city authorities and boda-boda riders. He, however, clarified that the registration exercise would continue.
According to city records, 5,181 boda-boda riders have so far registered, while 2,819 remain unregistered out of the targeted 8,000 operators in the city.
Atul said city leaders would engage the riders to establish the root cause of the demonstrations, adding that the registration exercise was intended to ensure order and proper identification of operators within the city.
He explained that of the UGX35,000 registration fee, UGX7,000 is remitted to boda-boda associations, UGX15,000 caters for identification stickers and cards, while UGX13,000 goes to the city council.
The mayor said the registration exercise was being conducted in collaboration with boda-boda leaders and was intended to improve regulation and security within the transport sector.
Atul further noted that only riders attached to recognised stages would be allowed to operate within the city upon completion of the registration exercise. He added that the programme was part of efforts to strengthen trade order management and improve security through proper identification of riders.
Lira City Resident City Commissioner Lawrence Egole condemned the protests, describing them as unlawful and disruptive to business activities.
Egole said the number of riders who had already registered demonstrated support for the programme and urged operators to resolve grievances through dialogue instead of demonstrations.
He observed that more than 5,000 riders had already complied with the registration exercise, which he said reflected the willingness of the majority to support the city council initiative. He warned that security agencies would not tolerate actions that disrupt public order and economic activities.
Egole further disclosed that investigations had been launched to identify the organisers of the protest and reiterated that acts of impunity would not be tolerated within the city.
North Kyoga regional police spokesperson SP Patrick Jimmy Okema also criticised the demonstrations, saying there were peaceful avenues through which the riders could have raised their concerns.
Okema confirmed that 15 suspected ring leaders had been arrested and detained at Lira City Central Police Station to aid investigations. He maintained that blocking roads and disrupting public movement was not an appropriate way of resolving disagreements and noted that investigations into the incident were ongoing.
Police and the Uganda People’s Defence Forces were deployed to restore calm after the protesters blocked sections of the busy Lira-Soroti Road.
Witnesses said business activities in the affected areas came to a standstill as hundreds of riders gathered on the road demanding an end to what they described as forceful enforcement of the registration exercise.
Security personnel later used tear gas to disperse the protesters before reopening the road to traffic.
By evening, authorities said normal business activities had resumed, and movement within the city had returned to normal.
