Mbale Bodaboda Men Oppose Sh200 Daily Tax

By Jonathan Angura THE Police in Mbale yesterday battled boda-boda bicycle operators currently on strike protesting a sh200 daily tax levied on them by Mbale Municipal Council. The cyclists went rowdy in the morning following road checks put up by the municipal law enforcement officers to check on the defaulters of the tax. The strikers mounted an operation to round up their colleagues who continued carrying passengers, some of whom had paid the tax. Police fired a bullet in the air and surrounded one of the garages where some of the strikers were picked from. The District Police Commander, Oire Eyagu, said Police intervened due to hooliganism that ensued as the strikers, carrying stones and sticks, violently restrained their colleagues from working. The operation paralysed business in town for about one hour as crowds gathered on the streets. Ends