Youthful as he was, realising he wasn’t gifted with ‘brain power’ to excel in class, he decided to try his luck on other activities.
His journey begins in Ndeeba, a city suburb where Kitatta who had no choice but to work as causal labourer by loading and offloading trucks of raw food from upcountry.
Those known to him, Kitatta illiterate as he was knew that only hard work would be his only means of survival in Kampala where he had no relative to lay a shoulder on in times of difficulty.
Short in height but muscular, Kitatta was belligerent and dubious. This is the same character that has seen rise to the top
Having done his time in Ndeeba, Kitatta later relocated to Kisenyi, a notorious slum in East of Kampala. Still as a casual labourer, Kitatta this time was loading and offloading sacks of maize flour.
Through “hard work” he was able to save shs 3 million and opened up a grocery shop.But he didn’t quit his job as a casual labourer for it was becoming lucrative!
Those known to his operational methods, say Kitatta struck deals and would rarely pay those he worked with. He also loved politcis
His love for politics was only deterred by his illiteracy. This didnt stop him from engaging in political debates where he liked to out-reason his critics..
Unlike other youth particularly low income earners who consistently blame the regime for their plight, Kitatta was pro- NRM and was always quick to defend the ruling government..
Rise To Notoriety
In 2010 after emerging famous, Kitatta contested for Rubaga Division as NRM chairman. He wildly won the election which was chaotic as his group unleashed violence against the opponents.
This was Kitatta’s unrelenting start into the murky world of politics..
He used his position to persuade high-ranking security officials that he can wipe out fanatics of opposition leader Kizza Besigye who were notoriously wrecking opposition hacov across the Country, especially in Kampala.
He managed to convince authorities that majority of Boda Boda cyclists in the city support Besigye, and suggested that to to counter this kind of support, he would mobilize Boda-Boda riders who were ready to rally behind the regime ,
At this point, he had won the trust of Police Chief Gen Kale Kayihura who facilitated Kitatta to open up an office in Nakulabye, Kampala Suburb.
This marked the birth of Boda Boda 2010 Association for which he has been the untouchable supreme leader since.
Starting as a Savings and Credit Association (SACCO), the group then received a Shillings 200 Million funding from President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni . The money was meant to provide a platform for the riders to increase their income generation activities..
At the time of making the offer, President Museveni was desperately soliciting for votes of an impeding election in 2011.He added the organisation another Shs 500 million in the same year.
Museveni is said to have extravagantly spent colossal sums of money during 2011 polls and was “gifting” nearly all organised community groups to rally support for his re-election bid
With the endorsement of President Museveni, Kitatta became the untouchable both in civilian world and security agencies. He has sneaked his way into the most powerful political offices in the land.
With no skills and very little education, he became a known security -go-to. Feared and uncontrollable, his closest associates say he owned 2 powerful guns,a pistol and an AK 47 rifle.
Armed with power and top connections,Boda Boda 2010 then moved to haunt, terrorize and unleash torture on civilians.
In 2012, Kitatta and his gang raided Busega market to overthrow the market leadership and planned to install his own leader.
This prompted police to fire live bullets to foil the invasion but the man from Mukono was not arrested.
A number of Ugandans had always wondered who commands a group of stick wielding militia that clobbers opposition protesters alongside police.
No one had ever come out including the IGP to claim command even when the illegal activities of the gang continued to be visible across the city . It was only later that it was discovered that the notorious gang were Kitatta’s henchmen.
Reign Of Terror
Although the vigilante-cum- Militia group was pro-establishment and worked to crackdown the radical opposition members, the group would later engage in criminality.
On several occasions, Boda Boda 2010 was accused of harassing other boda boda groups, leading gangs of robbers and also committing other atrocious crimes in the city.
One nasty incident was last year in October when Kitatta’s men pounced on school children and their teacher heading to Bwebajja to attend police celebrations. The gang way-laid the school bus and thumped the teachers and kids accusing them of being “Togikwatako” supporters owing to their red ribbons.The fearless criminals were also captured on TV warning police officers against interfering in their activities.
Just days ago, Inspector General of Police (IGP) Kale Kayihura defended Kitatta before Parliamentarians praising him for having helped to reign in on the walk to work protests that has paralyzed the city and the end of civil criminality.
Kayihura had been asked by Parliament to give a statement on these gangs which the public blame for the increased insecurity in the country.
Two days after his revelations where he heaped praises on Kitatta and group, Military Intelligence launched an operation in which several members of Boda Boda 2010 were arrested.
A day after, on Sunday, Abdullah Kitatta was also picked from a hideout in Wakaliga near his offices.The residents jubilitated.
At the start of the year, a Case Clinic Accountant who had mysteriously gone missing as he headed to the bank with huge sums of money was discovered burnt to the bones.
The same operation by CMI cracked whip on many other suspects and eventually recovered the vehicle belonging to Late Ekalungar.
Kitatta’s offices were raided on Saturday night where his “weapons of trade” including pangas, blunt swords, army uniforms, boda boda number plates were unearthed.
Kitatta and his brother Huzair Kiwalabye remain in detention as Military Intelligence continues it’s wider investigations and is looking for other gang leaders who are on the run..