Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has rolled out a high-tech cargo surveillance system that now allows customs officials to track transit trucks in real time from the Port of Mombasa to border points such as Malaba and beyond, in a move aimed at tightening border control and sealing revenue leakages along the Northern Corridor.

🇰🇪 Breaking It Down

This, according to KRA, is part of its modern efforts to enhance cargo security and is in line with Presidential directives aimed at modernising operations at the customs unit, which accounts for over 90 per cent of Kenya’s revenue.

At the heart of this system is the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), a digital monitoring platform that uses electronic tracking devices installed on transit cargo trucks.

“This is a very expensive gadget that costs about Ksh300,000 per unit. Once it is installed on a truck, it sends signals to our command centre at Times Towers in Nairobi. Before installation, the device is configured with several parameters that allow it to track the vehicle anywhere and everywhere it goes,” said Joseph Mucoki, Manager of the Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System (RECTS), during a tour of the Mombasa Port customs facilities with Kenyans.co.ke.

📌 What You Need to Know

“The Regional Electronic Cargo Tracking System has improved real-time monitoring of transit and export goods. This has helped deter dumping and cargo theft along the Northern corridor," added KRA Deputy Acting Commissioner, Customs and Border Control, Southern Region, Swalleh Faraj.

Before a truck is fitted with the tracking device, transporters must first be onboarded onto the Integrated Customs Management System (iCMS) and registered as compliant transit operators. The vehicles themselves are also profiled and cleared within the system before being allowed to carry transit goods across borders.

Drivers are also required to obtain a special license issued by KRA, confirming their eligibility to transport transit cargo under the RECTS framework . The license ensures that both the driver and vehicle are fully documented within the customs digital ecosystem before any movement is authorised.

Once cargo has been scanned at the port and cleared through other freight verification processes, drivers present their documents for compliance checks.

Details of the shipment, driver, and transport company are verified before the RECTS team issues the tracking device for installation.

The device, typically fixed at the rear of the container, is fitted using a strong industrial magnet that securely attaches it to the truck. This ensures it remains intact throughout the journey along the transit corridor, even under long-distance and rough-road conditions.

📰 Source: Kenyans.co.ke