DAR ES SALAAM, Sept. 9 -- HAVE you ever been stuck in traffic at Ubungo or Kariakoo, only to watch a boda-boda rider zoom, zigzagging between cars with a wild grin and not a single side mirror in sight?

That is not just everyday chaos, it is chaos in many towns now in Tanzania, let alone neighbouring countries. One by one, side mirrors on boda-bodas are vanishing into thin air. Poof! Gone.

No accident, no theft, no replacement, but just deliberate mirrorocide in broad daylight. What used to be a basic safety feature has now become an eyesore to todays youth, especially our beloved boda-boda riders, who have decided side mirrors are either slowing them down or-God forbid killing their swag.

According to a random (and rather shocking) sa...