There have been killings, extortion and gunpoint commands to ferry contrabands Trucks await clearance at a border along the Northern Corridor / FILE For hundreds of Kenyan long-distance truck drivers, every trip into South Sudan begins with uncertainty and increasingly, fear.
The route from Kenya through Uganda into South Sudan is one of East Africa's most important trade corridors, carrying food, fuel, construction materials and other essential supplies from the Port of Mombasa to Juba, and return trips for potential exports. This is part of the 1,700 kilometre-long Northern Corridor that runs between Mombasa (Kenya), Uganda Rwanda, Burundi South Sudan and Eastern DRC, the most preferred for transit goods by traders.
Yet behind the billions of shillings worth of cargo that moves along the corridor lies a grim reality of violent attacks, shootings, beatings, extortion and intimidation that drivers say has gone largely unheard. The latest victim is a Kenyan driver popularly known as Mzee Malalo, who was brutally attacked last week in South Sudan by people believed to be security personnel.
Unable to receive adequate medical treatment in South Sudan, he was evacuated to Elegu in northern Uganda where he is receiving treatment. His assault came barely weeks after another Kenyan driver was seriously injured in a separate attack, adding to a growing list of incidents that truck drivers say continue despite repeated promises by authorities to improve security.
"We strongly condemn the brutality allegedly inflicted by security personnel who are entrusted with protecting lives and maintaining security," the Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers Union said in a statement. The union called on the South Sudan government to conduct thorough investigations and hold those responsible accountable.
"In the meantime, we are consulting with other long-distance drivers' organisations to determine the next course of action. The safety, dignity and rights of all drivers must be respected and protected at all times."