With many Ugandan livelihoods dependent on the internet and boda bodas, the Minister for security Gen Elly Tumwine has said that internet and boda boda services are luxuries which Ugandans can live without because of the danger they pose to the country.
The General made the remarks while speaking to members of the e-trade association at his office in Kampala on Thursday.
“I can now tell you that all these things you think are important, are not. History and Covid have shown that we can do without travel and stay safe. You can do without internet; it came yesterday. Safe boda is just coming, even boda bodas are recent; they are of yesterday. We have been living without food being delivered,” he said.
He explained that government would rather close businesses like the internet and boda boda services because they had proved a threat to national security as wrong elements had started taking advantage of them to blackmail government and promote crime ahead of the just concluded elections.
In this era Boda bodas and the internet are two important tools that help security agencies to crack down criminals and rely information to a wide range of people. For instance Boda bodas not only ease transport in the country but have in the past been used by different security agencies to gather information and also trail wanted people while internet is used worldwide to electronically trail criminals.