Protect whistle blowers to boost security, trust

Motorcycles have offered public transport services for five years now, creating employment for young people. Popularly known as bodaboda, they provide comparatively inexpensive and convenient transport. It is possible for a bodaboda to ferry a passenger from one place to another for just Sh1,000, unlike the traditional taxis that set the minimum price for a ride at Sh5,000. The three-wheeled vehicles known as Bajaj will ask for just Sh2,000. Traditional taxis cannot navigate narrow alleys while Bajaj are easily stuck on rough roads. That is not the case with bodaboda. But they too have been in the news for all the wrong reasons--accidents and robberies.

There have been many complaints about accidents caused by bodaboda riders, with many of them over-speeding and riding recklessly. Traffic Police Commander Mohamed Mpinga confirms that motorcycle operators have been involved in many accidents. Since the government gave Tanzanians the green light to operate motorcycles commercially in 2009, the number of such vehicles has risen to around 400,000. The challenges have gone hand in hand with the rising number of the vehicles. Mr Mpinga stresses the importance of training to reduce the number of accidents. Prime Minister Mizengo Pinda told the National Assembly that 771 people died and 4,562 others were injured in 4,637 bodaboda accidents in 2012.

Responding to a question by lawmaker Magdalena Sakaya (CUF, Special Seats) who wanted the government to crack down on this form of transport, Mr Pinda said 594 people died and 3,034 others were injured in 3,326 accidents in 2011. He said, though, that the government would not ban bodaboda because they were useful.

Mr Mpinga acknowledges that some motorcycle riders have been involved in robberies. We remember the killing in June of Sister Crecensia Kapuli of Blessed Anwarite Parish in Dar es Salaam, who was waylaid by gangsters in a bodaboda at Ubungo after she withdrew cash from a bank at Mlimani City. She was shot dead and driver Patrick Mwarabu was injured before the criminals sped away with the money. Sr Kapuli was the bursar of a church-owned secondary school.

Criminals

Reports of criminals trailing unsuspecting targets and robbing them at gunpoint are common in Dar es Salaam. Sometimes people riding bodaboda grab bags holding personal effects, such as laptops, from pedestrians. Although police announced a ban on parking bodaboda near banks, there is no evidence that robberies involving motorcyclists have dropped. This raises questions as to how such gangs operate without being detected. These robbers live among us. They cannot commit crimes such as these for long without being noticed by relatives, friends or neighbours.

We are aware how dangerous it may be for those who volunteer information if whistle-blowers are not protected. Many law-abiding citizens are afraid to volunteer information on crime for fear of being exposed by bad apples in the police force, community policing notwithstanding.

We need a law to protect whistle-blowers from the bad guys who want to wreak havoc in our communities. Let’s co-operate and tackle bodaboda crimes and others. Families and religious leaders should preach the message that crime does not pay. We owe it to ourselves to make our society peaceful.