Yesterday, I was in a taxi from the Old Taxi Park to Muyenga. I was among the last three passengers to fill it up. One of us was a foreigner—a backpacker type.
As the taxi was pulling out of the park, he handed a 20k note to the conductor in advance. Instead of looking for his change, the conductor saw an opportunity to rip him off.
He started pretending he didn't have change. Yet, as we made stops to offload passengers along Nsambya and Kabalagala, I clearly saw him giving them change.
As we branched off Ggaba Road onto Muyenga direction, the foreigner asked for his money again. He even pleaded, "Come on, at least take 5k and give me the rest!" This back-and-forth went on all the way up Tank Hill Road.
The conductor kept pretending he had no change, replying in a mix of Luganda and broken English. The foreigner kept insisting on getting something back.
The whole time, everyone else in the taxi stayed quiet, including the driver.
Finally, I had had enough. Since I was about to get out, I offered to pay for him with a 5k note I had on me (the fare was 2k per passenger). But the conductor snapped at me: "Ffa kubikukwatako nawe!" (loosely translating to "Mind your own business!"). I didn’t add any other word. I fear insults from that type of people 😂 They have nothing to lose. Bekyawa kyawada.
I quietly checked my pockets, found 2k in 1k notes, and handed them to the foreigner without the conductor noticing. The foreigner then handed the exact fare in cash to the conductor, which finally forced him to hand back the 20k note.
The conductor handed it back while muttering unpleasant words in Luganda. He not only lost out on the extra 18k, but he also wasted his breath and saliva since the guy couldn't understand a word he was saying.
But seriously, why are we like this? Why do we do this in the developing world? No wonder someone once said, "There are no third-world countries, just third-world people."
I’m sure this exact scenario happens all the time to tourists here and in other developing nations. Someone comes to explore our country, and our first instinct is to grab any opportunity to fleece them.
You even see it with local businesses that jack up their prices the moment they see an international phone number ordering or inquiring.
We still have a long way to go as a society and it’s very hot like the back of this taxi.