By Jacob Onuha Nelson
Some motorcycle riders in Juba have called on the government to address the illegal charges by different institutions.
In an interview with this outlet on Tuesday, Zacharia Mbia, a resident of Kasiava and commercial bike rider, accused the police department and the association of unnecessary charges.
“If you’re caught by the Boda-boda Association. They’ll ask you for fines. When you pay, they’ll free you because they say whenever your motorcycle gets stolen. They’ll search to hold the perpetrator accountable,” Mbia said.
“But last time my bike got stolen, I kept on going to the office with no results for my new bike,” he added.
Roba Ladu Beden, a boda-boda rider based at Hai Cinema, stated that whenever a boda-boda rider got caught thrice with different departments of police officers, one paid the fines to meet their demand.
“But in case you’re also caught by the trade union. The Trade Union will still double you by asking to pay their different fines because the Trade Union claims that their department plays a different vital role from the boda-boda association that deals basically at the county level,” Roba stated.
Meanwhile, Ngok Tong, a resident of Mapau, claimed that he was once caught by traffic police officers with all documents but later demanded something for water.
“Last week I was caught by traffic officers. I’ve given them all the documents for the bike; they’ll still demand money,” Ngok noted.
Ngok also emphasized that even the Juba City Council does demand something from motorcycle riders.
“The Juba City Council also demands whenever motorcycle riders get caught. I really don’t understand the specific role of all these departments. As if we are working for them without knowing that we have families to care for,” Ngok lamented.
However, since December 2023, the traffic police officers have encountered boda-boda-rider-related crimes and accidents on the road.