Kenya protests hit operations at key border post

Arusha. Cross-border cargo traffic was halted for the better part of Monday at the Namanga border town following political protests in Kenya.

Reports said lorries from both sides of the borderline were stranded as several towns in the neighbouring country were rocked by violent protests.

“There were no lorries loaded with goods crossing the border. There was tension on the Kenyan side,” said Ismael Abdi, the chairman of the Tanzania Freight Forwarders Association at Namanga.

He told The Citizen by phone that the lorries were stranded until Monday evening when the riots that were beamed live on TV screens apparently ended.

Tension on the Kenyan side after calls for protests by the Raila Odinga-led opposition saw most of the lorries heading to either direction parked at the One Stop Border Post (OSBP).

“When it appeared the riots in Nairobi were over, the clearance started and that was late in the evening,” Mr Ismail told this newspaper.

A maize trader at the Kwa Mrombo open market in Arusha Lukas Mtenga said traffic was moving smoothly at the border post after the tense Monday.

However, he added that he had not heard of any protests on the Kenyan side of the busy town which also doubles as the main trade route between Kenya and Tanzania.

“Traffic has been flowing smoothly. Our concerns were short lived,” he explained, noting, however, that lorries that used to ship maize to Kenya were fast decreasing.

An official of the Arusha chapter of the Tanzania Chamber of Commerce, Industry and Agriculture (TCCIA), however, said some loaded lorries could not be cleared until early Tuesday.

“Some of our members were affected,” he said, promising to give more details yesterday but was apparently holed up in meetings for the entire day.

Namanga is not only the busiest cross border trade routes between Tanzania and Kenya but also linking Tanzania with the countries beyond Nairobi.

At different times in recent years, the town has been characterized by long columns of stranded lorries, especially from Tanzania, carrying fresh produce to Kenya.

The border line was plunged into confusion during the height of Covid-19 pandemic as traffic movement was restricted, impacting on the maize exports from Tanzania.

Namanga also had its fair share of “mini riots” mainly by hawkers on the Kenyan side that were associated with trade disputes between Tanzania and Kenya before the two neighbours agreed to bury the hatchet in May 2021.

With the Covid-19 over and warming relations between the two East African Community (EAC) partners, trade in goods was to blossom but then came drought which changed the dynamics. “No more maize (and other foodstuffs) are exported into Kenya as it used to be” Mr Mtenga further told The Citizen. Most lorries heading to Nairobi are now loaded with coal and timber.