Thousands of boda boda riders across the country whose motorcycles were impounded for flouting Covid19 guidelines are jubilating at a presidential directive to withdraw them. While addressing the nation on Covid 19 yesterday night, Museveni pardoned and asked for the release of hundreds of impounded motorcycles with immediate effect. Museveni said: “Some many motorcycles at police stations were confiscated for violating curfew. However, as people of religion sometimes it is good to forgive. These young people have already been punished since they have not been earning after being impounded,I direct you to release these motorcycles.” Deputy police mouthpiece Luke Owoyesigirye says police has already started returning the machines to all the owners provided they present evidence of ownership. Owoyesigirye says:”we are giving back the motorcycles without charging or giving penalties to the riders.They have procedures they are supposed to follow like coming with motorcycle log books that give details of who they are ,or an agreement of the company that holds ownership of a motorcycle,” Owoyesigirye howver says the exercise is restricted to yesterday :’‘but we are only considering persons whose motorcycles were impounded ,the day before the president spoke ,because this exercise has been ongoing and we developed a mechanism of giving back these motorcycles to the owners by penelising and forwarding them to courts of law.”. He says the same applies to Boda boda riders who dumped their motorcycles along the roads for fear of being arrested during curfew . However ,Ndugwa Charles, a Presidential advisor on  bodaboda affairs says that the process of getting back impounded motorcycles will not be as smooth as police put it for the  majority. ‘we want to thank the president for seeing our plight and acting on it,we have realised that only he ,has our backs he ,others are using boda bodas as a business,infact Museveni has no idea that they plan on kicking us out of operating in the City center and we shall not leave unless the president directs us to and gives us money or relocates us. He says :”I know that there some people who plan on frustrating the process of getting motorcycles back but I dont want us to pull any ropes this time.we dont want to protest.so please let the police laise with stage owners at community level ,so that they can also identify boda boda owners who lack the necessary paper work but own the machines ” Ndugwa has cautioned boda riders to stick to the regulations  on curfew and stop work by  6pm to avoid being on the wrong side of the law . Motorcyclists have been impounded are  issued with express penalty scheme tickets worth fourty thousand shillings  to be  paid as a fine in several banks . By Minah Nalule