The Curse of "Boda Boda"
Boda bodas are motorbike taxis ubiquitous across East Africa, particularly dominant in Uganda. The term originated from drivers who shouted "border, border" at potential customers along the Uganda-Kenya border during political instability in the 1970s.
Originally, bicycle-based smuggling operations at border crossings transitioned to motorcycles in the 1990s when import restrictions were lifted, and cheap Indian and Chinese imports flooded the market.
An estimated 350,000 boda bodas operate in Kampala alone.
The bikes themselves are predominantly cheap imports from Bajaj (India) and Chinese manufacturers, purchased on credit through financing schemes.
Cable snares made from motorcycle clutch or brake cables are the most common method of bushmeat poaching. The sheer volume of boda bodas means clutch and brake cables are abundant, cheap, and essentially untraceable.
The wire's properties make it particularly lethal: strong enough to restrain large ungulates and flexible enough to fashion into self-tightening nooses.
For Aston Sparks and his Lake Albert Safaris anti-poaching team in the Kabwoya Wildlife Reserve, the clutch cable from the boda boda motorbikes is a relentless problem.
