TRADERS’ OPTION B

Kenya elections: Ugandan businesses worry about trade disruption, look to Dar es Salaam

By Musinguzi Blanshe
Posted on Monday, 18 July 2022 19:26

The main port in Tanzania's capital Dar es Salaam is seen in this aerial view taken 4 December 2009. REUTERS/Katrina Manson

As Kenya's 9 August national elections draw closer, anxiety is growing in Uganda’s business community over any likely chaos that could disrupt flow of goods at Mombasa port. It handles more than 85% of the country’s imports and exports. Traders tell The Africa Report that they may turn to Dar es Salaam port, which the Tanzanian government has been pushing as a viable and cheaper alternative.

President Uhuru Kenyatta is set to finish his second term and hand over to a new leader. The presidential election pits veteran opposition leader Raila Odinga – who has Kenyatta’s backing – against William Ruto, the deputy president.

Recent elections have brought violence and been contested in the courts. Odinga is piling pressure on the electoral commission with various demands that he argues are prerequisites for a free and fair election. But Ruto’s team seems to back what the electoral commission is already doing.

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