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Kenyan driver arrested in Uganda after man found under his truck

Wednesday January 23 2019
truck

Motorists on the Malaba-Jinja-Kampala road in Uganda on March 24, 2017. A Kenyan driver has been arrested for allegedly ferrying a man under his truck. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NMG

By MONITOR

A Kenyan driver has been arrested in Uganda after a passenger was found hiding under his truck.

Jinja District police commander, Mr Vincent Irama, said the two were seized by Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) security officers at a checkpoint on Tuesday night.

Mr Irama did not reveal the identities of both men but said they had dodged multiple security checks along the 1,050km journey from the Kenyan port city of Mombasa to Jinja.

“The two were on their way to Kampala and are currently detained at Jinja Central Police Station,” Mr Irama said on Wednesday.

Jinja is about 80km east of the capital Kampala.

“The truck was stopped by URA officials for a routine check and a security man saw someone seated where drivers usually carry items. Upon checking, a man full of dust was found,” Mr Irama said.

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He said that the passenger first claimed to have come from Mombasa, then the western Kenya city of Kisumu before stating that he was from Malaba, a Kenyan town at the border.

The driver, according to Mr Irama, said he was unaware that there was someone under the truck.

“He said he never carries passengers,” Mr Irama added.

The driver will be charged with human trafficking while the passenger faces illegal entry charges, the police commander said.

Following the recent terrorist attack on a hotel-office complex in the Kenyan capital Nairobi that left 21 people dead, Uganda has heightened security. The attack was claimed by Somalia-based Al Shabaab militants.

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