The Association for Long Distance Truck Drivers has threatened to stage demonstrations in the next 14 days if the government fails to curb a surge in insecurity along Kenya’s major entry points.
While expressing their concerns, the drivers accused police officers of negligence by failing to deal with the menace that has since led to the demise of some motorists.
According to them, in the past one month, several truck drivers were attacked by unknown goons, particularly along the Kisumu- Busia Highway and Eldoret- Malaba Highway.
They further alleged that most drivers were ambushed and left nursing critical injuries during a traffic snarl-up at the Kenya-Uganda entry point.
A convoy of transit lorries along Eldoret – Malaba Highway on Sunday, June 4, 2023.
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KeNHA Kenya
The truck motorists further claimed that despite several attempts to report the matter to the nearest police stations, there was no tangible action taken by officers to deal with the matter.
“We as long-distance drivers, are suffering because we travel for about 40 km without any help or facilities to relieve ourselves, this forces us to stop and find alternative ways,” commented one of the drivers.
“The surge in these theft cases is quite surprising because while ferrying the goods, the vehicles are closely monitored but once goods are taken, they can’t be traced,” commented another driver.
The drivers who spoke to the press in Busia called on the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki to resolve the matter urgently failure to which they would be forced to stage protests.
They also demanded Transport Cabinet Secretary Davis Chirchir personally visits the entry points and help put an end to the escalating crisis.
The strike notice comes hardly two months after the truck drivers issued a similar notice to the government over the prevalent insecurity at the border points.
In their July 14 presser, the Kenyan truckers called for diplomatic talks between the two governments to avert the mounting issues witnessed in the Kenya- South Sudan link roads in recent times.
Truck drivers at a weigh-bridge stop in DRC.
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