Miraa transporters have dismissed claims by a German digital publisher that Kenyan roads are among the most dangerous due to some stunts they pull while transporting their produce.
German Free Documentary recently published a viral show dubbed World’s Most Dangerous Roads - The Flying Trucks of Kenya, which indicated that Miraa drivers overspeed, overload, and drive dangerously, endangering other road users.
Speaking to Kenyans.co.ke, the Chairman of the Nyambene Miraa Trade Association, Kimathi Munjuri, dismissed the portrayal of the documentary that was released on Sunday.
“In all honesty, if you watched keenly how our drivers even take time to mend their vehicles and package the miraa, how can you depict them as the most dangerous guys on these roads, they are even way more responsible than these public service vehicles we see making abrupt stops anyhow and creating viral stunts online,” Munjuri remarked.
Munjuri defended miraa drivers, noting they are disciplined, cautious and responsible, contrary to how they are normally depicted.
According to Munjuri, the producers of the viral documentary were biased in their coverage, noting that they did not take time to understand the sector fully.
“A driver will drive from Maua to Nairobi in about three hours because miraa is a perishable product and for each trip, they can get anywhere between Ksh 4K - 5K,” he noted.
Currently, miraa drivers are averaging three trips to Nairobi every week, which is a drop from the usual five or more, which was the case before Somali set a quota for Miraa exports.
A driver can make up to Ksh15,000 a week, which corresponds to Ksh60,000 a month and Ksh720,000 a year. However, drivers who rent pick-up trucks part with almost half the amount they are paid.
Exceptions are made for drivers with their own vehicles or provided for by the Miraa trader exporting his produce.
Miraa farmers and traders have also faced more challenges in recent years, with declining international markets due to bans in other countries such as the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
During the interview, Munjuri lamented that business is currently low, explaining that a bag of the produce has dropped by 60 per cent to Ksh40,000.
A normal pick-up ferries ten (10) 100 kg bags, which are subdivided into four pieces of 25 kg each to ensure the miraa does not burn down in humidity.
Each 100kg bag goes for a minimum of Ksh40,000, corresponding to Ksh400,000 per trip. In a week, that means a Miraa trader can make Ksh1.2 million a week, or Ksh4.8 million a month or an average of Ksh57.6 million a year.
“When the Somali market was opened back in 2022, miraa traders exported close to a billion tonnes of Miraa. Right now, we are only allowed to transport 100 tonnes in a day because of quota regulations,” Kimathi noted.
Moreover, he has called for the increment of Miraa export volumes to Israel, which currently only receives 1 tonne per week.
To safeguard the Kenyan exporters, he has appealed to the state to open the Kenya-Somalia border for traders to ensure they have unfettered access to the Somali market.
