On any given night along the busy Bukoto-Ntinda road, 29-year-old Godfrey Tindyebwa can be seen expertly maneuvering a motorcycle through the dark.
To a casual observer, he is just another motorist beating the traffic. But closer inspection reveals a remarkable story of sheer grit: Tindyebwa operates the motorcycle’s gear shift lever with a custom-welded hand stick. He is an amputee, riding to survive.
Tindyebwa, currently pursuing a Certificate in Computer Science at YMCA Kampala, lives a double life. By day, he attends lectures; by night, he hits the road to raise his own tuition and personal upkeep.
His grueling journey began in 2006 at a school clinic in Kamwema, Isingiro District. A botched anti-malaria injection triggered a severe medical crisis that eventually led to a diagnosis of bone marrow cancer. In 2016, doctors at Bombo General Military Hospital amputated his leg.
“It took me eight months of sleepless nights and agonizing pain,” Tindyebwa recalls.
Worse still, he had to independently foot a medical bill of nearly Shs20 million. His father, a polygamist, offered no financial backing. Tragedy has long stalked Tindyebwa’s family; he is the de facto firstborn after his mother lost her first child, and she later passed away during childbirth. Despite this, Tindyebwa is now the sole caretaker of his aging father. The family remains alienated from wealthy relatives due to historic disputes over ancestral wealth-ironically, the same wealth that helped fund Tindyebwa’s initial treatment.
Seeking financial independence after healing, Tindyebwa acquired a loan to buy a motorcycle for food deliveries. He chose to ride exclusively at night to minimize the risk of daytime traffic accidents. However, the margins remain painfully low, and Kampala’s roads have not been kind. On December 27 last year, Tindyebwa’s bike lights suddenly failed in Kamwokya. He hit a deep pothole, throwing him violently to the ground. The accident left him with a cracked skull and another mountain of medical debt he is still clearing.
Undeterred, Tindyebwa is looking toward the future. His immediate focus is securing a computer science internship placement this September. Ultimately, he hopes to transition from two wheels to four. He believes that if a well-wisher could help him secure an automatic vehicle, he could safely run Uber or delivery services to change his fortunes.