Former State Minister for Health Mike Mukula has revisited an unusual moment in President Yoweri Museveni’s political history, recalling how a motorcycle taxi helped the president navigate crowds and reach his 2001 presidential nomination venue at Kololo. The incident remains memorable because the presidential convoy reportedly struggled to make progress as supporters filled the roads.
Mukula, who was then the Member of Parliament for Soroti Municipality, said he advised Museveni to abandon his vehicle and use a boda boda after it became difficult for the convoy to move through the crowds. In a post on X, he credited Moses Byaruhanga, a State House official, with arranging the motorcycle that eventually helped the president continue his journey.
According to Mukula’s account, time was running out, and the growing crowds threatened to delay Museveni’s arrival at the nomination venue. He recalled that the decision to switch transport proved crucial, allowing the president to bypass the traffic and continue towards Kololo, where electoral officials were waiting.
Mukula said Museveni had less than 45 minutes remaining when they decided to use the motorcycle and claimed they reached the officials with only 15 minutes to spare. His recollection paints a picture of a tense race against time, with an ordinary motorcycle taxi becoming an unexpected solution to a problem facing the presidential convoy.
However, some details in Mukula’s account differ from historical reports. He placed the incident in 2000, while contemporary reporting dates Museveni’s nomination at Kololo to January 9, 2001. Reports also identify Hajji Aziz Kasujja as the Electoral Commission chairman who handled the nomination, rather than Stephen Besweri Akabway, whom Mukula mentioned in his post.
A report published by Daily Monitor on March 25, 2018, stated that Kasujja declared Museveni duly nominated at 3:57 p.m., ahead of the 5 p.m. deadline. This account suggests that the president had more than an hour remaining, rather than the 15 minutes recalled by Mukula. Despite the differences over timing and other details, the central story of Museveni using a boda boda to reach Kololo is supported by other accounts.
Museveni himself recalled the incident in 2018 while speaking at the swearing-in of judges. He explained that he had underestimated the crowds between Nakasero and Kololo and became concerned that he might miss the nomination deadline. Faced with the possibility of being delayed by traffic, he decided to board a motorcycle taxi instead of remaining in his vehicle.
New Vision identified the rider as Sam Kabuga, who was reportedly 18 years old at the time and operated a motorcycle taxi from Nateete. Kabuga later recalled that security personnel selected him from riders gathered at Kololo and that he carried Museveni for approximately 500 metres before the president dismounted and proceeded to the pavilion. He said he did not charge the president for the ride.
The nomination placed Museveni in the 2001 presidential election alongside five challengers, including his strongest opponent, Dr Kizza Besigye. Museveni went on to win the March 12 election with 69.3 per cent of the vote, while Besigye received 27.8 per cent. Mukula’s recollection has once again brought attention to the extraordinary motorcycle ride, a moment in which a boda boda reportedly helped the president overcome a crowded route on a crucial day in his political career.
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