This archive report was first published on 11 May 2021.
On May 11, 2021, a security team in Kenya seized 22 trucks suspected of ferrying 'unsafe' maize from Uganda in Kapenguria town, West Pokot County.
The trucks were impounded after a security team laid a trap at Kacheliba in Makutano town, where the lorries coming from Uganda load off maize.
According to West Pokot County Commissioner Apollo Okello, the maize was seized due to concerns over aflatoxin, a toxin found in maize that can be harmful to human consumption.
Okello stated that the ban on maize importation from Uganda and Tanzania was introduced on March 5, 2021, after a survey found that maize from Uganda was unfit for human consumption.
However, maize traders in Kapenguria protested the move, claiming that the maize was from West Pokot and not Uganda, and that it was wrong for the security team to seize their maize 170 kilometers away from the Uganda border.
Traders accused the government of economic sabotage and called on the government to release the maize, citing that maize is grown in various areas within West Pokot County.
Human rights activist Kibet Abraham also faulted the government for making traders incur huge losses and affecting many livelihoods, and accused cartels and millers of having a scheme to compel residents to buy maize flour from them.
