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- Dec 16, 2025
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Kenyan truck drivers operating along the Uganda–South Sudan route have staged a blockade at border entry points after Ugandan security forces reportedly arrested their union leader, escalating tensions surrounding the growing border impasse between Kampala and Juba.
📸: Image Courtesy of Reuter,2020.
According to reports, Mr. Sudi Kauli Mwatela, the chairperson of the Long-Distance Drivers Union and a Kenyan national, was arrested on Sunday in Elegu, the busy Uganda–South Sudan border town, shortly after addressing protesting truck drivers. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
The drivers had parked their trucks in protest over alleged harassment, insecurity and what they described as illegal charges imposed while operating within South Sudan. The arrest has since triggered anger among transport operators on the Kenyan side, who responded by blocking Ugandan border access points in protest.
The standoff threatens to disrupt regional trade along one of East Africa’s most critical transport corridors, particularly for goods destined for South Sudan, which heavily depends on imports routed through Uganda and Kenya.
The latest developments also come at a sensitive diplomatic moment as regional leaders continue arriving in Kampala ahead of President Yoweri Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony scheduled for May 12. South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit is already in Uganda for the event.
Source; Daily Monitor UG
According to reports, Mr. Sudi Kauli Mwatela, the chairperson of the Long-Distance Drivers Union and a Kenyan national, was arrested on Sunday in Elegu, the busy Uganda–South Sudan border town, shortly after addressing protesting truck drivers. His current whereabouts remain unknown.
The drivers had parked their trucks in protest over alleged harassment, insecurity and what they described as illegal charges imposed while operating within South Sudan. The arrest has since triggered anger among transport operators on the Kenyan side, who responded by blocking Ugandan border access points in protest.
The standoff threatens to disrupt regional trade along one of East Africa’s most critical transport corridors, particularly for goods destined for South Sudan, which heavily depends on imports routed through Uganda and Kenya.
The latest developments also come at a sensitive diplomatic moment as regional leaders continue arriving in Kampala ahead of President Yoweri Museveni’s swearing-in ceremony scheduled for May 12. South Sudan President Salva Kiir Mayardit is already in Uganda for the event.
Source; Daily Monitor UG
