Uganda: Boda boda rider breaks taboos

Woman cabby in the driver's seat - 2nd May 2022

Joining the tiny minority of women 'boda boda' or motorcycle taxi drivers on Ugandan streets, 27 year old Allen Kisakye Butundu is optimistic that this might be the start of a wider trend among women.

For Butundu, it's been a journey fraught with obstacles from the word go, given that she had to swim against the tide of traditional prejudices. Even having driving lessons was an uphill struggle since, in Uganda, riding a motorbike is usually the domain of men.

"The community were shocked to see a female rider," she comments, adding, "Some people would even shout things at me and chase me."

Her quest began two years ago, when she was working as a social worker, and it dawned on her that a motorbike was the most efficient and economical way to commute between the capital, Kampala, and the surrounding rural districts.

Ingrained gender roles have hampered Butundu's progress, with her husband originally refusing point blank to coach her. Biting the bullet, she'd flag down boda boda drivers on the roads, declaring, "I'm not a customer, but I want to learn how to ride this bike," and offering to pay a token amount or contribute towards petrol costs. Ultimately, her husband came around and stumped up £1,400 as a down payment on a motorbike.

Although Butundu spread her wings as a full-time driver last year, taking home roughly £10 a day working for a Ugandan start-up with 26,000 employees on its books, she has ongoing battles with society's entrenched views.

"I felt ashamed at first," Butundu confesses. "I used to pack my helmet and trousers in a bag and change near my bike, which I parked away from the house. But then I thought – I have to start accepting that this is part of my work."

She's sanguine that by breaking the mould, she'll galvanise other women to become boda boda drivers. Butundu lavishes praise on her employer, Safeboda, as the firm's restoring faith in the industry by upskilling its drivers – and also protecting them by enforcing helmet use and by tracking riders via a specialised app.