By KT Reporter
The leadership of the Bodaboda industry in Lira City has refuted claims that Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng hijacked them from Lira City East MP and UPC Party President, Jimmy Akena Obote.
The Bodabodas through their umbrella, Lira United Motorcycle Bodaboda Association (LUMBA), through their Chairperson Moses Okori held a press conference and cleared the air saying that Dr. Aceng didn’t hijack them from former Patron Akena as always claimed.
Instead he said, it was Akena himself who made a decision to abandon them on claims that they had switched their support from Uganda Peoples Congress (UPC) to National Resistance Movement (NRM).
‘’We did not abandon MP Jimmy Akena. It was actually him who opted to abandon and neglected us upon realizing that we were supporting Dr. Jane Aceng for Lira City Woman MP in the 2021 elections,’’ Okori explained.
Okori also narrated that it was his own initiative to arrange the bodabodas in a group, which later was registered as association.
He added that, after registering Association in 2012, they started giving out motorcycle loans their members and that business went on very well.
Mr. Okori was on Wednesday reacting to the claims making round on various media reportedly engineered by Lira City East MP and UPC party President Akena, alleging that Dr. Jane Ruth Aceng hijacked bodaboda from leaving him with burden to pay bank loan accounting to sh 15billion.
According to him, MP Akena claims that had injected a lot of his personal money in the bodaboda through LUMBA and that he reportedly used this as a point of burgain for president Museveni to pay him.
Okori said Akena did not invest anything in their Association and that he just accompanied them to Post Bank and help them lobbying as a leader of Lira Municipality then.
Even the motorbikes given to bodaboda he said they used to get on loan, whose only security was logbooks held by the bank. ‘’Akena did not use his father’s house as loan security, let him stop lying.’’
He said as a progressive group, they approached Dr. Jane Aceng’s good leadership having been attracted by his good leadership. Aceng welcomed them and assisted them to move on with the business in another Bank since they had also supported her in her 2021 campaigns.
He further suggested that, Akena could have been annoyed of them because of supporting Dr. Aceng because he already knew of his wife Amongi’s plan to run against her in 2026 elections.
‘’Neither NRM government nor Dr. Aceng fought Akena’s partnership with the Bodaboda association LUMBA. He fought himself out and his abandonment almost led to our collapse had it not been Aceng who came to our rescue,’’ Okori explained.
He requested for audience with President Museveni to brief him on their side of the story and avail him relevant documents in regarding the saga.
About their opinion on the 2026 general elections, Okori pledged bodaboda’s commitment to ensuring that President Museveni retains his seat as the Head of State.
‘’President Museveni is a tested leader who we have ever as capable and he is able to lead Uganda. We shall massively mobilize support for him and our Dr. Aceng Ceng Atedero for Lira City Woman MP,’’ Okori explained. Give us feedback on this story through our email: kamwokyatimes@gmail.com
