By Peter Kahindi
I DECLARE Saturday, 6th June to be SYDNEY GYADI GONGODYO DAY, to be celebrated every year from here on out.
It will be remembered as a dark day but a day on which more Ugandans started to say NO.
We say NO to more deaths of this nature from now on.
We say NO to this cancer of lawlessness that has taken grip on our society.
A young man nearing his prime was murdered in broad daylight along a very busy road in Kampala.
His name was Sydney Gyadi Gongodyo and he was only 27 years old.
From online commentary and his father’s courageous eulogy, we gather that he was mistaken to have snatched a bag from a woman nearby.
That “mistake” led to him being called out as a thief.
What followed still has us shocked; seeming bystanders started hurling insults at him, escalating to objects of various sizes ranging from stones to sticks to large wooden planks.
One heavy set man took up a large piece of timber and landed its entire weight on Sydney’s head as the young victim begged for mercy and pleaded innocence.
Boda bodas had been gathering steadily, their riders disembarking quickly to join in the mayhem…the murder. Two of those picked up and threw concrete pavers, aimed at the victim’s head.
That they so readily felt the need to inflict fatal harm on this innocent man simply because they could still makes us question where we have gotten to as a society.
It did not matter that the sun was shining and the area was well covered by government-owned CCTV cameras. They feared no repercussions. In fact, one is seen dressed in an Uber reflector jacket. That is how brazen they were.
This is a cancer of lawlessness that we have allowed to grow to a dangerous size.
Sydney’s death reminded me of my friend and colleague, Peter Kibirango, also murdered by a mob in the suburb of Mutungo on suspicion of stealing a phone from a charging point in the neighborhood in 2019.
It was later established that his was an honest mistake. He had simply confused an identical phone of a similar make that was also charging at the same place.
Peter was an Advocate with 10 years of legal practice under his belt, and a bright future.
Here we only speak of Sydney and Peter, but there are numerous others – including another in Gulu City this week.
We have to worry more deeply when lawlessness reaches these levels in a society. It is now a cancer.
Do we have ample laws and a criminal justice system to cater for crime?
Yes.
Even if there were areas of improvement, the majority of our criminal matters are prosecuted to their logical conclusion.
There is an absurd opinion that citizens take matters into their own hands because suspects are often issued with police bond, court bail or given light sentences upon conviction.
That, therefore, regular citizens on the street are “more aware” of the appropriate sanctions to impose and the right procedure to adopt than the professionals charged with the same responsibility.
There are reasons why we have systems and processes in place.
One obvious one is that the systems ensure that innocent people are not punished for crimes that they did not commit.
Systems are also in place so that offenses are logically examined without involving emotions and adrenaline-inspired actions.
Mob attacks are, almost without exception, driven by emotion, adrenaline and the derangement that is defined by the word ‘mob’.
Sydney, Peter, and many other victims of mob attacks should still be alive fending for their loved ones and contributing to nation building.
This brings me to Uganda’s scary street boda boda mentality.
We must seriously look into this as a nation.
Boda bodas are a convenient means of transportation. The industry also employs many youths at a time when unemployment is one of our biggest challenges.
But boda bodas and their operators are a menace.
Many boda boda riders do not heed traffic laws; worse, they disobey them with such reckless abandon that anyone who tries to correct them risks physical assault.
We know the stories: when a rider is involved in any sort of incident with a motorist, other riders quickly gather and accuse or attack anyone but their fellow rider.
It does not matter what transpired. Theirs is the kind of collaboration that is founded in prejudice and criminality. Their colleagues are always right and the gang stands to defend them without question.
My friend and brother John Musiime in a recent article noted that when an incident involving a boda boda rider occurs motorists risk being burnt or beaten to death.
This includes situations where you may knock them as you turn off towards your left where the boda is wrongly trying to overtake, against traffic rules and regulations!
A motorist on the right side of the traffic laws is well advised to flee – drive quickly to the nearest police station and take refuge there.
I have had the opportunity of dealing with the leadership of boda boda organisations, during the course of my work in road safety regulation. I always find it curious that they present all their submissions aggressively in the form of absolute ultimatums.
The boda boda mob mentality pervades even board rooms!
We must undo this mob mentality.
Start with self-introspection, especially by those with the power and authority of coercion – the State.
We must apply severe sanctions against the perpetrators of this public violence.
And we must educate the public that it is wrong and unacceptable. Public perception drives societal behaviour, so without creating public awareness nothing will change.
We must do this NOW.
And let us check in next year on 6th June, SYDNEY GYADI GONGODYO DAY, to assess how much we have changed, and every year after that.
That is the best way of offering condolences to Sydney’s family and saying, forever: “Rest In Peace, Sydney Gyadi Gongodyo”.
Jambo (Hi)! I'd be happy to hear your thoughts so…say something here?