Tension is rising in Miritini estate, Jomvu constituency, over testing of truck drivers in the neighbourhood.
On Tuesday, Mombasa Governor Hassan Joho told Kenya Transporters Association CEO Dennis Ombok all truck drivers will be tested for Covid-19 at the Miritini MCM, a health centre that had initially been closed.
The facility will be opened to allow for the testing of truck drivers.
Residents, led by MP Badi Twalib, are, however, opposed to the testing of drivers at the facility, saying it poses a risk to the health of residents.
Residents have vowed to block the exercise.
“We have old people and children in this area. Why do they insist on having the tests done here? Let them find an alternative place to have the drivers tested. We don’t want corona here,” resident Salma Muhsin said.
On Tuesday, Twalib said he was not opposed to the testing of truck drivers as long as it is not done in the residential area. He said the estate has only one entry and exit point.
From the highway, truck drivers will have to use boda bodas to access the health facility, Twalib said.
“There are shops and many other facilities that residents frequent and there is no telling which truck driver is infected and who is not. They will most likely interact with residents,” the MP said.
He said some companies have big yards where tests can be done, including the government's vehicle inspection unit.
He also said North Star Alliance, along the highway near Near Jomvu total petrol station, has been tending to truck drivers for years. “They can improve that hospital and use it for testing,” Twalib said.
He said after talking to the county government they agreed to have the tests conducted outside the residential area. It is not clear whether this will be the case.
Ombok on Tuesday told the Star they had been instructed to meet at the Miritini MCM for tests Wednesday 8am.
“We talked with the governor on the phone, and we agreed that all truck drivers will be tested at the Miritini MCM,” he said.
At least 500 drivers are expected to show up for the test.
However, there was good news for the drivers who will now not pay anything for the tests.
Earlier, each truck driver was charged Sh6,000 for the initial test and another Sh2,000 for any subsequent test.
Each test is valid for 14 days, after which one is supposed to be tested again.
However, Okoa Mombasa, a human rights movement, had condemned the county for subjecting drivers to such punitive charges.
Okoa Mombasa’s founding member Khelef Khalifa, who is also the Muslims for Human Rights chairman, said the charges were unfairly targeting truck drivers because residents are being tested for free.
Khalifa said in a month, a truck driver was supposed to pay at least Sh8,000 for the test, mostly out-of-pocket.
“Many truckers cannot afford this expense, with average monthly wages of around Sh25,000,” he said.
Roman Waema, the Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers and Allied Workers Union chairman, said most drivers are forced to indirectly pay from their own pockets.
“If the company pays, it is deducted from the driver’s salaries at the end of the month, which is unfortunate and wrong,” Waema said.
The chairman also faulted MP Twalib for his stance, saying there is no guarantee that Miritini estate residents have no virus.
“How sure is the MP that the Miritini estate residents have not been infected already? In fact, the test will be beneficial to them too because they will also have an opportunity to be tested,” Waema said on the phone Tuesday.
There are about 15,000 truck drivers in Mombasa alone.
Most deliver cargo to neighbouring countries of Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, among others.
On May 6, Transport CS James Macharia said the government will not issue a Covid-19 certificate – an essential document for crossing the border and returning to Kenya – to drivers who do not undergo the test.
The Health ministry announced that all Kenyan truck drivers must undergo a mandatory Covid-19 test at their point of origin.
Monday marked the first day of mandatory testing, but some government-designated hospitals where drivers were to be tested remained non-functional.
Khalifa said, for instance, the last operation day for the Miritini MCM was a fortnight ago.
“At an alternative testing centre – Public Health Department, Mwembe Tayari – health officials turned away drivers who could not pay Sh6,000,” Khalifa said.
He said the trucking industry has already endured a dramatic economic downturn in recent years, with the Standard Gauge Railway supplanting trucks as the primary method for transporting cargo from Mombasa Port.
“Truck drivers are already facing increasing social stigma, being perceived as spreading the Covid-19 virus,” Khalifa said.
Edited by A.N