Boinnet deploys 200 police officers to escort cargo on Northern Corridor

Inspector- General Joseph Boinnet has deployed at least 200 police officers to work with the Kenya Transporters Association (KTA) in escorting cargo along the Northern Corridor.

KTA chief executive Alfayo Otuke said the lobby group would next week meet the security agencies to plan on how to provide security for cargo.

“This follows rampant cases of cargo theft and incidents hitting a notch higher...sometimes turning fatal besides losing cargo to highway criminals.

“This situation has seen some transporters re-routing to Tanzania,” he said.

Mr Boinnet’s move comes in the wake of President Uhuru Kenyatta’s order last month that he sets up a unit that will secure cargo along the corridor.

The President, concerned about theft of cargo along the trade route, said the government would not tolerate theft of transit goods and asked the Inspector General to create a police unit charged with the responsibility of ensuring that cargo reached the borders safely.

“Our neighbours are complaining that Kenyans are stealing their goods and we cannot accept this to be the status quo.

“Action will be taken against those who think that Mombasa port and the Northern Corridor will be a place where our neighbour’s goods are going to be stolen,” he said at the commissioning of Mombasa port’s phase one of the second container terminal.

Yesterday, Mr Otuke said lobby group would work closely with the police to ensure that cargo reached their destinations safely.

“The KTA and the police will form a working committee which will report the success on a monthly basis to ensure the vice is eliminated permanently,” he said.

“This gesture will go a long way to enhance efficiency at the Mombasa port and make it most preferred by our trade partners.”

Mr Otuke added: “Criminal activities are seeking an economic return from illegal business where transportation is mostly a vector for these transactions.

“While concerns have been raised before, recent incidents of cargo theft have thrust the issue of physical security along the Northern Corridor into motion.”

In a recent brief to the security agencies, the Kenya International Freight and Warehousing Association said there was a need for enhancement of enhancement of cargo monitoring by Electronic Cargo Tracking System (ECTS) service providers up to the final destination of cargo.

“There is also a need for formation of rapid response teams by ECTS providers and active control rooms throughout the Northern Corridor,” said the brief the association sent to senior police chiefs in efforts to ensure security of cargo in transit.