Kenyan drivers' group urges halt to non-essential trips on DR Congo corridor after reported killing

The Long Distance Drivers and Conductors Association (LoDCA) advised Kenyan drivers and transport companies on 15 October to suspend non-essential trips along the Mahagi–Pimbo–Djugu–Bunia–Kisangani corridor in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). The advisory followed reports of renewed violence, including the reported killing of a Kenyan driver, the Kenyan daily The Star reported.

The association said travel should stay suspended until the security situation is verified to be safe. The Kenyan news site Kenyans.co.ke described the corridor as a key transport route mostly used by Kenyan drivers. The advisory also referred to other fatalities involving transport workers and civilians, and to poor road conditions in some sections, the Kenyan news site Nairobi News reported.

On 14 October, a day before the advisory, the association had issued a security alert for the Mahagi–Kisangani route, which passes through Pimbo, Djugu, Igabriel and Bunia, the Kenyan news site Eastleigh Voice reported. Citing reports, the association said six drivers, including Kenyans, had been captured by rebels but had since been found safe, Kenyans.co.ke reported.

The 14 October alert cited reports that dozens of people had been killed that day. It told drivers waiting in Mahagi not to move until the situation was confirmed safe, and told drivers already in the DRC to tell association leaders, family and colleagues where they were. Images obtained by Kenyans.co.ke showed trucks with broken windows, deflated tyres and missing number plates, with what appeared to be cargo scattered on the ground.

The 15 October advisory asked companies not to send trucks or staff into affected areas without reliable security clearance and updated risk assessments. Drivers already on the corridor were told to find safe locations, stay in contact with fleet managers and follow guidance from security agencies and local authorities. Stakeholders were asked to share only verified information.

The association called on the Kenyan and Congolese governments, security agencies, transport regulators, logistics firms, cargo owners and regional trade bodies to improve cross-border security coordination and information sharing. "No driver should be required to risk their life in the course of earning a livelihood," it said, as quoted by The Star.

Mwakilishi, a news site for the Kenyan diaspora, reported on 14 October that Kenyan driver Edwin Njuguna was killed in Bunia in April. It said four Kenyan drivers and their co-drivers were killed in August in an attack on the Beni–Kisangani road attributed to suspected rebels, after which truck operators halted movements in parts of Ituri Province.

The DRC is a transit destination for cargo landed at Kenya's Port of Mombasa. The Northern Corridor Quarterly Performance Dashboard for October–December 2025, which uses Kenya Ports Authority data, put DRC transit cargo through Mombasa at 556,981 tonnes in that quarter, up 69.27% from 329,040 tonnes a year earlier. The DRC accounted for 13.07% of all transit cargo through Mombasa, against 66.62% for Uganda.

The Chinese Embassy in the DRC said in a security notice issued on 8 October that the situation in Ituri and Haut-Uélé provinces was not encouraging, the Wuhan-based Changjiang Daily reported. It told Chinese citizens not to travel to Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu or Haut-Uélé, which it classed as extremely high-risk areas, and asked Chinese citizens and companies already there to leave or move to safer places as soon as possible.

The association's advisory stays in force until there is enough assurance that normal transport operations can resume safely. It said it would issue further updates.