This archive report was first published on 18 June 2020.
On June 17, 2020, the East African Community and Regional Development Cabinet Secretary, Adan Mohamed, intervened to end the Namanga border stand-off between Kenya and Tanzania, which had paralyzed cross-border trade for two weeks.
The stand-off, which began two weeks prior, was caused by a disagreement between the two countries over how to test truck drivers for COVID-19 at the Namanga One Stop Border Point on the Kenya-Tanzania line.
Tanzanian authorities had initially rejected the testing of the country's truckers for COVID-19 at the Namanga crossing, citing a memorandum of understanding signed by representatives of the two countries.
However, on Wednesday, June 17, 2020, Adan Mohamed announced that the two trade partners had reached an agreement, allowing Tanzanian truckers to be tested for COVID-19 at the border crossing.
According to Mohamed, the agreement was reached after President Kenyatta's talks with his Tanzanian counterpart, John Pombe Magufuli.
"The two-week stand-off has cost the two trade partners greatly. We have now agreed on protocols and testing modalities for seamless movement of goods within the East Africa Community," Mohamed said.
He also emphasized the importance of regular dialogue between member states to avert a possible economic and bilateral crisis.
