31/8/2026
The fatal shooting of a boda boda rider in Kampala during Saturday’s National Cleaning Day should force Uganda to ask a simple question: how did a voluntary community exercise become something that requires armed officers to enforce?
Police have arrested Police Constable Allan Okello, attached to Ndejje Police Station, after he allegedly shot and killed a boda boda rider at Ndejje Kanaaba in Katwe Police Division.
According to police, officers had been deployed to provide security during the cleaning exercise when the rider allegedly attempted to force his way through a secured area.
The circumstances surrounding the shooting are still under investigation.
The deceased has been identified through a National Identification Card as Ronald Kizito Jjuuko, 38.
The Police have said any use of force by its officers must be lawful, necessary, proportionate and guided by established police procedures and the prevailing circumstances.
That investigation should be allowed to establish exactly what happened. But beyond the individual case is a much bigger question about how Uganda is implementing the National Cleaning Day.
The exercise is supposed to encourage citizens to come together voluntarily to clean their communities. Instead, in many places, it has increasingly acquired the character of an enforcement exercise, with security officers restricting movement and, in some communities, residents being compelled to participate.
