Why internet sensation Muzungu Boda was ejected from Uganda
Muzungu Boda at a washing bay in Luzira with other boda boda riders. PHOTO/MICHAEL KAKUMIRIZI.
What you need to know:
- Government says Armin was found operating a charity organization illegally
A New Zealander who had gained popularity on the internet for his sensational social media content, Mr Raid Samuel James Armin, aka Muzungu Boda, was ejected from Uganda because he was found working illegally, government has said.
The Ministry of Internal Affairs spokesperson, Mr Simon Mundeyi, told journalists in Kampala on Monday that the content creator known for drifting different types of cars and riding a boda boda motorcycle was found operating a charity organization without the requisite papers.
"We did not deport this gentleman, we removed him. There are two things here; this was an organized departure. If a foreigner is found working on a visitor's pass or on a wrong visa, we organize for your removal from the country. And if you acquire the necessary papers that allow you to work, then you are allowed to come back into the country. Which is different from deportation," Mr Mundeyi said.
Mr Mundeyi explained that deportation is ordered by the Minister of Internal Affairs or courts of law, and the individual deported is not allowed back in the country but for organized departure, like in Muzungu Boda’s case, the ejected person can go back to their country, rearrange and reorganize themselves and acquire the necessary facilities and be able to return to the country to continue with their work.
"This gentleman was found running a charitable non-governmental organization without a work permit. And those are the reasons that formed the basis for his organized removal. At some point, you would find this man in one of the recordings doing very weird things. And we even wondered whether he was in his right sense of mind. In one recording which he did with children, he would be seen drifting with children to very worrying levels; almost children hitting their heads on the tarmac and crying. Children are seen crying while he was laughing," Mr Mundeyi said.
In the departure lounge at Entebbe International Airport, Mr Mundeyi said Muzungu Boda, acted awkwardly by yelling at whoever he saw wearing either an immigration uniform or with the government of Uganda badge.
“That kind of behavior was really uncalled for. We peacefully sent him to his country, asking him to first reorganize himself. Then he will return and we shall let him in. He was, I think, a self-appointed spokesperson of government, talking about potholes here. Talking about things which were uncoordinated. So, we thought with the work he had given himself, he needed to have a work permit in order to do that kind of work," Mr Mundeyi added.
In a recent interview with this publication, James said 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 Uganda 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 said in the story published on October 13, 2024.
