Kisumu, 15/10/07
 
HIJACKING AND ROBBING OF UGANDAN TRADERS ON KENYA ROADS IS BOUND TO HURT CROSS BORDER TRADE IN EAC

By Leo Odera Omolo
 
The spate and waves of highway hijackers of passengers vehicle is likely to have negative impact on trade between Kenya and her immediate neigbouring countries of Uganda,Tanzania and Southern Sudan
 
There is alarming incidents where criminals thugs armed with sophisticated hand guns and other arsenal of weapons concealed in jackets and guising like genuine passengers traveling up country from the capital have ended up in highjacking country buses full of passengers, robbing them of their valuables, cellphones and money.
 
Such incidences have occurred when buses ferrying traders on their way back home after visiting the Kenya Capital Nairobi. Not only foreign businessmen and women who have lost property worth million of shillings, but even the local Kenyan traders have suffered the same fate.
 
The statistics showed that business people from Uganda, northern Tanzania and Southern Sudan are fond of frequenting the Kenyan capital to place their orders for shopgoods, vehicles, spares and machineries.
 
But of lately, there is a sharp increase in the cases of highway robberies. The thugs seemed to target only passengers heading for border towns like Malaba and Busia on the Kenya-Uganda borders.
 
The same treatment is also being meted to travelers plying from the capital,Nairobi and destined to the border towns of Sirare and Namanga on the Kenyan Tanzania borders
 
The latest incident happened last week.Passengers aboard a Ugandan bound bus were in for a shock when four gangsters hijacked their bus in Molo area of Nakuru district in the Rift Valley and robbed them of all their belongings.
 
According to eyewitness,the gunmen boarded the bus registered in Uganda and Christened Regional Coach Bus Company in Nairobi, which set off at about 8.00pm (local time) in the evening at main bus terminus.
 
At about midnight the thugs pulled out their pistols, one of them is said to have been armed with an AK47 assault riffle dismantled and hidden it in his traveling bag. The thugs ordered everyone to keep quiet and surrender whatever they had.
 
These thugs then commandeered the bus off the main road and forcefully diverted it into a nearby thicket where they robbed the driver and his conductors as well as the 44 passengers of all their cash, mobile phones and luggages.
 
The thugs were not in hurry. They loaded their loot onto a pick up truck, which had followed them before driving off leaving the victims in the cold in the chilling night. Molo area is one of the coldest areas in the Kenyan highlands.
 
Police in Molo sub-district confirmed the incident, saying none of the 44 passengers aboard the bus were injured.
 
But narrating their ordeal in the chilly night the police chief Mr.John Kadumo said three of the thugs had boarded the bus from Nairobi main bus terminal, while the fourth man joined the bus in Nakuru as his seat appeared to have been reserved and paid for by someone in Nairobi or by his accomplices.
 
The Molo division police Chief, however blamed the incident on the management of the bus company, which failed to inspect the passengers who boarded the bus in Nairobi and Nakuru, armed with Ak47.
 
The other three, the police chief, added, had pistols, which had also not been detected by the officials of the bust company.
 
Owing to the increase on hijacking of passengers vehicle in most Kenya roads, the operators of the passengers vehicles have in the recent past introduced stringent inspection system before the passenger boarded their buses. These companies are now using gadgets similar to those used by international airlines for passengers traveling by air.
 
The local police chief said they have already launched full-scale investigations into the incidents, hinting that the police were closing in on the perpetrators.
 
Molo area came to limelight early last year when three policemen, a private security company driver and a cashier were shot dead, while escorting a securicor van which was transferring more than Kshs 30 million from a Molo based branch of the Kenya Commercial Bank to the Nakuru main regional branch .One of the dead was a police woman.
 
The robbers even took away the cell phone of the driver cutting off the crew from passing any information about the incident to the bus company offices in Kampala.
 
Similar incidents have of lately become so common on the Kenya roads, but are likely to have adverse effect in the country’s otherwise booming trade with her neighbouring states .In the latest incident 60% of passengers traveling in the fateful bus were businessmen and women from Uganda.
 
Other incidences have occurred on the main Kericho-Kisii road and on Kisii-Migori road when buses plying between Nairobi and the Kenya -Tanzania border had come under similar attacks in the recent past.
 
Uganda business people are worried that they have been loosing money on the Kenya roads but seemed the Kenyan government seemed to be paying very little attention nor making any tangible plan to protect the traveling passengers.
 
Business people in Uganda depend entirely on the Kenyan ports of Mombasa for their imports and exports but ferrying such imports overland between Nairobi and the Kenya Uganda border have become nightmare.
 
Lorries, trailer and other mode of transportation between Kenya and Uganda needs armed escorts .Not only that these traders looses mobile phones and money but, also shop goods and other highly valued items to thugs.
 
Hijacking of passengers vehicles and eventually the acts of robbing passengers and even stripping both men and women naked on the Kenyan roads is hurting the economy in one-way or the other.
 
Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda are members of the five member nations East African Community (EAC) whose charter entrenched the freedom of movement of people by member states and cross-border trades.
 
Ends
leooderaomolo@yahoo.com