The clearing agents do their dirty work, and the cost is reported as an administrative fee. Early yesterday, as Kuria departed from his roadside parking space in Bungoma, Kenya, the rear brake on his trailer locked up. Rather than repair the flat on the spot, Kuria decided to hurry to the border to get into a long line of trucks queuing to cross the border into Uganda. Malaba, the border town, is a depressing place where cows graze in trash-strewn lots and most of the people at the border post look grim and hardened. Everyone seems to be looking for opportunities.
Young men offer to ease the hassle of passport control for a fee.
There are so many trucks nudging through the border checkpoint that the air is choked with great clouds of black diesel fumes and dust. The EPA would probably shut down this place if it were in the United States. Here, nobody pays much mind. The clearing agent ran off with the paper to get customs approval. Not once since the truck left Mombasa on Saturday has any authority lifted the tarpaulin to confirm the cargo is actually grain.