Francis Mawejje, a 30-year-old boda boda rider, has officially announced his candidacy for the presidency of Uganda, aiming to unseat long-serving President Yoweri Museveni.
“Our economy is essentially driven by the boda boda sector—about 80% of it,” Mawejje stated during his announcement. “This is a hand-to-mouth economy. People leave their homes each day uncertain of whether they’ll make any money.”
Presenting what he called a “Boda Boda Manifesto,” Mawejje criticized Uganda’s economic structure, describing it as one that appears to grow but ultimately stalls due to widespread debt and poor financial planning.
“People are desperate. Many spend hours in betting clubs, hoping for miracles. The government has reduced its taxpayers to beggars. Everyone believes someone else owes them. Our youth—key drivers of national development—are fleeing the country in search of better opportunities, leaving behind an unproductive generation more focused on football debates than nation-building.”
He highlighted the country’s deteriorating infrastructure and public services: “Hospitals lack essential medicines, police and army officers live in rundown housing, roads are in disrepair, and civil servants earn meager wages—not because Uganda is poor, but because of rampant corruption and greed.”
Mawejje who claims to hold a diploma in diplomacy, unveiled a seven-point reform plan designed to transform Uganda. His priorities include tackling youth unemployment, overhauling the health and education sectors, and streamlining government by reducing the number of districts, constituencies, ministries, departments, and agencies. He also pledged to introduce constitutional reforms, including granting voting rights to Ugandans in the diaspora and prisoners, and limiting presidential powers.
“We have endured enough under the current NRM regime,” Mawejje concluded. “It’s time to end nearly four decades of President Museveni’s rule and usher in a new generation of leadership to take Uganda forward.”
