The Kenya Long Distance Truck Drivers and Elite Workers Union have threatened to paralyze operations following the continued killings of drivers along the Voi-Masimba-Maungu stretch of the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.
In the last three months, four drivers have been hijacked and killed with the latest killing taking place on Thursday morning.
The union has issued a seven-day ultimatum for police to make arrests and reveal those behind the killing, failure to which they will go on strike beginning next week.
Addressing the press in Mombasa, the union’s national general secretary Nicholas Mbugua said that it was sad that drivers have been dying on the highway, yet no action has been taken to apprehend the killers.
“This is the fourth driver killed now and so far no arrests have been made. We are giving the government seven days to tell us what is going on,” he said.
“By next week if no one would have been arrested, I am telling the government that no lorry will be on the road beginning next Friday,” warned Mbugua.
He said that complaints from the drivers about the security issue along the stretch have been falling on deaf ears as to date no action has been taken to apprehend even a single suspect.
Mbugua also called on the government to ban the illegal sale of diesel along the highway saying that it is a major contributor of hijacking of truck drivers along the highway.
He said that highway robbers have been targeting long distance trucks to siphon fuels and in some cases steal goods on transit.
“Let us be like our neighbours Uganda, no fuel is sold on Jerricans, only through the fuel pump,” said Mbugua.
He asked the police patrolling the highway to be vigilant and not only stop trucks to demand bribes saying that they should also be suspicious of trucks carrying more than one person.
“We are still fighting for turn-boys to be brought back. A truck should have only the driver on board. In case you see more than one person, raise the flag because the driver could have been hijacked but is unable to indicate that to you,” Mbugua said.
Mbugua also warned drivers to park in safe areas saying that many choose to park and sleep in the middle of nowhere to save on the millage money, given to them by employers.
He said that despite having more than 281,000 trucks on the road, only about 15,000 are members of the union.
“It is sad that employers stop drivers from joining unions, many have been fired for doing so. But we continue to push and recruit them, many of those who have ended up being kidnapped were looking for something extra,” he said.
He said that most drivers were employed through word of mouth and paid peanuts making it difficult to fight for their rights, adding that those in the union were earning less than Sh50, 000 per month.
“How do you expect a driver to survive on Sh8, 000 subsistence from Mombasa to Malaba all the way to Kampala in Uganda and back?” he posed.
The union’s national chairman David Chiroto added that police along the Voi-Maungu stretch should be held accountable saying that it was astonishing that criminals just disappear in thin air after killing and abandoning bodies along the road.
He demanded for security to be beefed up along the area especially Maungu saying that truck drivers have a right to live and fend for their families.
“When we chose to become truck drivers, it didn’t mean that we signed our death certificates. Guarantee us security so that we can do our work and fend for our families,” said Chiroto.
Chiroto said they are demanding that the killers of their colleagues should be brought to book.
He said they also want justice for their fallen colleagues before embarking on road blockades to protest the killings.
