This archive report was first published on 21 June 2020.
Published on June 21, 2020, the situation of headless trucks lining up on Busia County transnational highways due to COVID-19 tests is a clear case study for students of planning, crisis communication, and disaster management in Kenya.
The crisis has caused traumatizing and heart-wrenching experiences for communities in the county, with authorities displaying helplessness in handling the problem. Meanwhile, truck drivers are being discriminated against and left to fend for themselves, with some community members accommodating them in their homes.
As the situation worsens, the long queues at border points like Malaba and Busia have led to lengthy Turn Around Times (TAT), creating huge financial pressure on truck drivers and investors in the business. The authorities' failure to anticipate and prepare for this problem has left many questions unanswered.
Did the county or national disaster management teams anticipate this problem, and what are they doing about it? The efforts made so far have been inadequate, and it is not reassuring or creating the confidence required in dealing with such a disaster.
More appalling is that people on genuine visits are being harassed and discriminated against, while the same energy has not been extended to deal with the truck drivers' case. The manner in which truck drivers are being treated presents them as irresponsible and opposed to diligent business practices and testing taking place to stop the spread of the virus across the borders.
