Kenyan truck drivers threaten to paralyse transport at Namanga as Tanzania-Malawi feud persists

Kenya truck drivers have found themselves in a tricky situation following a standoff between Tanzania and Malawi.

The transporters have threatened to paralyse transport activities at the Namanga border after Tanzania blocked their trucks ferrying produce from Malawi.

The move follows a diplomatic row that has been simmering between Malawi and Tanzania, with the bone of contention emanating from Malawi's December 2023 move to ban unmilled maize imports from Kenya and Tanzania to mitigate the spread of maize lethal necrosis disease.

Tanzania appears to have hit back, blocking transportation of cargo destined to Kenya at the Malawi-Tanzania border in a decision that has crippled operations of the transporters.

"We fail to understand because these are goods on transit, it doesn't affect the Tanzanian territory. They are coming thorough Tanzania to Kenya," Kenya International Flight Forwarding Namanga representative Alex Seita said.

"We want to request our government, kindly, our people are getting problems at the borders in doing business; the leadership should come down and listen to people at the grassroots level."

Hundreds of importers are now incurring huge losses with their trucks stuck in Tanzania for over two weeks now.

"As much as we are trying to be friendly with our country, it is very difficult. I call upon all relevant authorities to look into this matter as soon as possible," Clearing agent Elizabeth Kinyanjui said.

In the absence of a speedy resolution to the standoff, they have vowed to take matters into their own hands.

"We are giving them 24 hours from today. By tomorrow saa nane tutakuwa tumefunga hii mipaka yote. Hakuna gari itakayoingia ya Tanzania au kutoka ya Namanga ili jambo hili liweze kusuluhishwa," Rashid Gachoki, a transporter, said.