By The Weekly Vision
Angry members of the public in Busia yesterday blocked a truck suspected of ferrying deadly weapons from gaining entry into Kenya from neighbouring Uganda. The truck had already been cleared on the Ugandan side but members of the public grew suspicious after noticing that it was being escorted by members of the Ugandan military force.
According to a Kenya clearing agent, it was a concerned Ugandan custom official who raised the alarm, informing them about the suspicious procedure that was being used to clear the truck into Kenya. Customs officials suspiciously avoided subjecting the cargo to a mandatory screening at the customs border post. Security officers on the Kenyan side of the border were allegedly ready to escort the truck and its suspicious cargo to an unknown destination.
A Kenyan customs official told The Weekly Vision that the truck had no customs clearance papers the driver and his loader disappeared from the scene while the owner of the truck was allegedly still holed up at the Busia OBSP exit yard.
News of the presence of the truck and its deadly cargo spread like wild bush fire and soon after, Budalang’i Member of Parliament (MP) Raphael Wanjala accompanied by other local leaders stormed the OBSP Station Managers Officers demanding to be told the truth about the suspicious cargo from Uganda. Mr Wanjala demanded the container in question be opened immediately. ‘’We want to know whether it has firearms or not. If you cannot open it then we break it open to assuage public concerns.”
He threatened that if the KRA, the police and other related agencies fail to comply with the public demands, the cross-border business at the station will remain grounded. They demanded to know how the truck could have been allowed entry into the country without going through the mandatory official scanning procedures for all cargo trucks leaving or entering the country.
It emerged the truck was supposed to be cleared by a local clearing agent called Bosco but he was nowhere to be seen. The Wanjala team turned the OSBP Station Manager’s Office into a circus. The Station Manager only took office last month, he appealed for patience as his officers sort out the matter.
