This archive report was first published on 15 June 2020.
On June 13, 2020, a Kenyan truck driver, Samuel Kinyua Wangware, 35, was found dead in his cabin at the Busitema revenue checkpoint in Uganda's Busia District.
Wangware, a resident of Mathira in Nyeri, Kenya, had been driving a truck carrying bags of hydrogen carbonate to Kikajo in Kampala, Uganda.
According to preliminary investigations by the Ugandan police, the cause of death is still unknown, but natural causes are suspected.
However, the police are working with medical teams to establish the cause of death, including the possibility of COVID-19.
Wangware's body was found by his colleague, Paul Njoroge, who had stopped to greet him at the checkpoint.
"I was heading to the Malaba border, saw his truck and stopped to greet him but unfortunately, I found him dead," Njoroge said.
Wangware had parked his truck at the checkpoint on Friday evening, complaining of feeling unwell, and was seen replacing a faulty tire before entering the cabin as darkness approached.
The area was cordoned off, and a team from the Busia District Covid-19 taskforce, led by Dr. Yusuf Lule, arrived at the scene and disinfected the truck before gaining access to the cabin.
No coronavirus certificate was found in the truck, but the team is working to establish Wangware's COVID-19 status with Malaba Port health officials.
Wangware's death comes in the wake of stringent measures by the Ugandan government on truck drivers aimed at combating the spread of COVID-19.
