Muzungu Boda at a washing bay in Luzira with other boda boda riders. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI.
Who is Muzungu Boda? You could have stumbled upon videos of him across social media platforms. The mzungu who rides a bodaboda, wades through floods on Kampala streets or speaks to the people on the street goes by the moniker Muzungu Boda. He talks about whatever you watch him do.
A man who has become more known by his moniker, Muzungu Boda than his real name he refuses to go by or even say. “My name is Muzungu Boda, that is what they call me, my birth name I will tell you next time,” he told me when we first met.
Over the past year, Muzungu Boda has risen to fame across various social media platforms due to his captivating content. His videos showcase him riding a boda boda (motorcycle taxi), engaging with Ugandans, and unleashing his daredevil side by skillfully drifting various types of vehicles.
Watching his content on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram was adrenaline-inducing enough for me to reach out and at least catch a ride with him. Fast forward, Tuesday afternoon we met for an experience on his boda boda across town as we listened to reggae music by Gregory Isaacs.
This journey which started from Acacia Mall to Bugolobi became unforgettable as we got to have a chat about life and his love for Uganda.
The sun was up in the middle of the sky, Muzungu Boda with his arms covered in fur, his face with a stubble and a moustache combo and big sunglasses.
This, teamed with a bucket hat to match his colourful beach-like shirt and a white vest that visibly was a former T-shirt. He gave me a firm handshake.
As we drove through the central business district, we were greeted by random chants of “Muveeyo” loosely translated as get out of the way- a common phrase that has become synonymous with Muzungu Boda’s content and waves and screams of Muzungu Boda from passengers in matatus and pedestrians, to which my skipper of the day would graciously respond enthusiastically.
The man who stands at about six feet or slightly higher was born in New Zealand, to a Bosnian mother and a New Zealander father- a former war photographer.
He says his parents met during the war and moved to New Zealand where they continued their story,
“I grew up in New Zealand, I came from a safe country, but I also came from tragedy and war. And would visit back and forth going from the safest country in the world to probably one of the most destroyed countries in the late 1990s after the war. So that gave me a regional outlook on life and what it means to be safe,” he says.
Feeling Ugandan
How he fell in love with Uganda is rather a simple story of love at first sight. Coming to Africa was not new to him as he had lived in Ghana as a tennis coach for a short stint, but he fell in love with the Pearl during his maiden sojourn in 2023.
“I came to see my cousin who has lived here for 10 years and I had a dream about him. I decided to call him to see if he was safe,” he recounts.
When he landed in the country, he was hit by the beauty galore from the climate to the food, “The people, the music, the beauty, the nature, the food, I am a lover of fruits, avocados, and pineapples, what is there not to love?” he says.
Adding “flair” to Ugandan foods using butter or garlic to the Rolex or matooke is an affair that gives him tingles to date.
“I am going to learn Luganda and continue to make videos about what’s happening here,” he says. He goes on to tell me that he has been able to learn so much about Uganda from the adventure in Jinja to the hidden gems of Bwindi.
Starting a football club
He is very passionate about football, but if you told Muzungu Boda that he would own a football club two years ago, he would simply dismiss it as a joke.
Following two questions: What do you do for fun? And What do you do for your community? to make up his mantra, he “accidentally started a football club.
“I did not come here to do charity for children, it was an accident and it is because I got them a football one day. And that football turned into another, then to a goal and then to a jersey and then training them and that spiralled into an academy with three coaches, 62 children registered” he explains.
From his shared ad revenue from social media and generous donations from his fans, he pays school fees and supports members of his community in different ways.
“I try feeding them every night something whether it is juice or chapati or bread or something, they are my friends and they need help,” Muzungu says.
Becoming Muzungu Boda
“During my first visit, I was recovering from surgery after an accident, I had just got off crutches, so I never tried boda bodas,” he says. But upon his return, he had the urge to give it a try, picked a random cyclist, and offered him his first try riding one and the rest is history.
“When I posted my first video on a boda boda and hit a million views overnight, that is when I started and decided I would pick people and take them wherever just for fun,” he explains.
In his quest to make Africa laugh, comes the responsibility for his actions given to his young audience that follows his content, “I don’t wanna put anyone’s life in danger except my own. That is the number one element, the only person I will ever risk is myself,” he says.
“I know what I am doing, the drifts may look dangerous but they are done very safely and that is not to say there isn’t a risk. There is always one. It is risky to ride without a helmet and I would say to always act within your ability. If you wanna do something like that, you need to know what you are doing and do it in a very safe environment,” he adds.
