By REUBEN OLITA
May 12, 2026| The Teso North security team, led by Deputy County Commissioner Solomon Kitai, on Monday secured the unconditional release of Malaba long-distance truck drivers’ chairman Sudi Mwatela and driver Elijah Nyaga, who had been arrested in Uganda.
Speaking to the press after the release, Kitai said the sub-county security committee traveled to Malaba, Uganda, to intervene in circumstances surrounding the arrest of the top official of the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association (KIFWA) and a truck driver at Elegu, the border town between Uganda and South Sudan.
According to Kitai, the two Kenyans had allegedly raised protests over claims of harassment, assault, and intimidation of long-distance truck drivers by South Sudanese security officers.
“Despite the arrests, the two Kenyans admitted that Ugandan security officers neither injured nor harmed them, and they appreciated the cordial relationship between Kenya and Uganda that has existed for decades,” he said.
Kitai noted that the main challenge remains in South Sudan, where long-distance truck drivers allegedly face assaults from security officers. This has prompted drivers to down their tools in protest over safety concerns while transporting cargo through Uganda to other East African Community member states.
“We are happy that the two Kenyans were handed over to us unconditionally as a sign of the cordial relationship existing between Kenya and Uganda,” Kitai said, adding that both governments agreed to avoid similar arrests in the future.
Mwatela said he was arrested after Nyaga and revealed that they were released at 2 a.m. on Monday following intervention by the Kenyan government through the Teso North DCC.
He said his earlier appeal urging striking drivers to resume work had initially been met with resistance due to fears over safety in South Sudan, although the drivers later agreed to resume operations.
Nyaga assured Kenyans that they were safe and unharmed, adding that they had been taken to Atiak before their release. He emphasized the importance of unity among drivers and stakeholders in resolving such disputes.
An NGO expert who previously worked in South Sudan and sought anonymity claimed that security officers in the country are known for subjecting long-distance truck drivers to corporal punishment.
“In the 1990s, even if you had proper documentation, they would still demand money, claiming it was for the government. Most local leaders and county commissioners were former SPLA soldiers,” he alleged.
KIFWA Chairman Kennedy Osiya said the arrest of the two Kenyan drivers in Elegu underscores the need for stricter measures to ensure smooth cargo movement along the Northern Corridor.
“There is an urgent need for Uganda to introduce mobile scanners or allow trucks carrying dry cargo such as clinker and cement to pass without undergoing lengthy scanning procedures,” he said.
Osiya further alleged that operations at the border had slowed after a scanner in Uganda reportedly broke down two days earlier, causing delays in cargo clearance. This led to truck snarl-ups that stretched for over 20 kilometers to Kimwanga Bridge.
“There is a need for Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni to ease border clearance procedures by reducing mandatory scanning for all trucks, in line with East African Community protocols that encourage seamless movement of goods and traffic within the Great Lakes region,” he stated.