Two truck drivers who were detained in Uganda released

Teso DCC Solomon Kitai receives the two Kenyans who were held by Ugandan authorities over allegations they incited long-distance truck drivers to down their tools over harassment and intimidation by Southern Sudan security personnel / IMAGE / HILTON OTENYO

The Teso North security team secured the unconditional release of Malaba long-distance truck drivers' chairman Sudi Mwatela and driver Elijah Nyaga, who had been arrested in Uganda.

The two were released and handed over after intervention by the Teso North Security Committee team headed by the sub-county Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Solomon Kitai on Monday at the Malaba-Uganda border

Mwatela, an official of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) Malaba chapter, and Nyaga had been arrested at Elegu town on the Uganda-South Sudan border and detained by Ugandan police in unclear circumstances over the weekend.

Kitai said the two Kenyans had allegedly raised protests over claims of harassment, assault and intimidation of long-distance truck drivers by South Sudan security officers before they were arrested.

“The two Kenyans appreciated the cordial relationship between Kenya and Uganda, admitting that Ugandan security officers neither injured nor harmed them, despite their arrest,” Kitai said.

Kitai said the main challenge remains in Southern Sudan, where long-distance truck drivers transporting cargo through Uganda to other East African Community member states allegedly face assaults from security officers, prompting them to strike more often over safety concerns.

“We are happy that the two Kenyans were handed over to us unconditionally as a sign of the cordial relationship existing between Kenya and Uganda,” Kitai said, adding that both governments agreed to avoid similar arrests in future.

Mwatela said his earlier appeal urging striking drivers to resume work was initially resisted due to fears over safety in Southern Sudan, but the drivers later agreed to resume operations.

Nyaga assured Kenyans that they were safe and unharmed, adding Nyaga said that they were taken to Atiak before their release, emphasising the importance of unity among drivers and stakeholders in resolving such disputes.

KIFWA chairman Kennedy Osiya said the arrest of the two Kenyan drivers in Elegu underscores the need for stricter measures to ensure smooth cargo movement along the Northern Corridor.

“There is an urgent need for Uganda to introduce mobile scanners or allow trucks carrying dry cargo such as clinker and cement to pass without undergoing lengthy scanning procedures,” he said.

Osiya further alleged that operations at the border had slowed after a scanner in Uganda reportedly broke down two days earlier, causing delays in cargo clearance.

This led to trucks' snarl-ups that stretched for over 20 km to Kimwanga Bridge.

“There is a need for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to ease border clearance procedures by reducing mandatory scanning for all trucks, in line with East African Community protocols that encourage seamless movement of goods and traffic within the Great Lakes region,” he stated.