Mkimwa,

I once heard of an insurance yellow sticker or something like that. Long distance drivers in the group can enlighten us

Ask guka, I thought he has done a stint as a long-distance truck driver at sometime!

Callaspdae has summed it up all for you.... A few more

1.Use Malaba border point.Not as congested as Busia and clearance is quick.
2.No need to post you documents to an agent.
3.You'll pay a fee for your car depending on size(a Saloon is Kshs 3,600).
4.Avoid exchanging money on the back streets.Use registered forex Bureaus.

and finally puuliiiiz!!....on your way back,bring me 4 PREMUS!!....puuuliiiiZ!!!...lol

...Primus is a DR Congo beer...take it at your own risk. Ever wondered why those Congolese dancers shake their buttoms the way they do. That is how you will be walking. It is worse than viagra. Ndombolo tupu...
...while in Uganda, avoid Baganda girls like plaque. Your trip may just end there. Dont pass throgh Rock Garden...It is worse than that joint along Kenyatta avenue...

@Mkimwa...FOC = Free of charge.
...hi mboys only trip maybe a tripping point.
...you were allowed atrip into UG ??
....Check properly...the gals trip could be the catch .
....you have been baited hook ,line and .....
have fun though and dont be a hero there.
....just be calm,they are all good looking.but as you can here from Hon.magigi....looks can be deceiving.enjoy

@Mkimwa - some of the details given are NOT quite true...more so the Kenya-Uganda crossing (I have done this abt 5 times in the last 1.5 years (more recently in December)...

1 - Comesa Insurance - given its a new car it will have to be comprehensive and is charged per occupant as well as the car (I recall for my 1993 old bomber for comprehensive - 2 adults, 3 kids, the cover would be Kshs 17,000 - opted for TP at the border for Kshs 2500). Anyway, comesa cover might be very very costly but will cover you in about a dozen countries for the period specified.

There are representatives of Ugandan Insurance Companies at the border - you can get 4 months TP cover at Kshs 2500-3000 - go personally to their offices with a copy of the log book and get the cover needed right there.

2 - I think its OK to use brokers if you have an additional 2-3k to blow and do not mind sitting idle doing nothing in the sweltering heat. But you CAN do the stuff yourselves. Don't fall prey to brokers who try to pass themselves off as officials by flagging you down like cops would. All customs guys are either manning the gate (in fact its G4S who man the gates) or sitting in the office.

3 - If you are abt 3 people - spread out the tasks and do as many tasks concurrently to save time (we have crossed the border in a record 10 minutes - wife with kids and passports/forex, myself with customs/police/insurance - so one person sees to the insurance, another the customs/police and another to convert whatever forex you need (BTW with forex, if you can, avoid the 50,000 and 20,000 denominations (high chances of forgery even with the licenced money changers). if you cross during bank hours at Malaba, go to Stanbic just next to immigration on the Ug side.

4 - Log book - sadly if its not your car, you need an affit davit from the owner indicating you have permission to travel with the car + owners ID, plus original log book, etc etc. Otherwise you will have a hard time. You need to fill a form in duplicate (one will be filed with the logbook and one needs to be presented on the Uganda side thereby acknowledging you have left the original at the Kenya border and the Uganda customs will issue you with another document to allow you to cross over. Kenya customs MAY ask for your ID or passport number. After you are done with customs, you need to notify the police a few doors down that you have left with the MV, sign in the book, number of occupants, make of car, registration, etc etc

@Njung'e - I do not recall paying anything for the car itself....perhaps commercial vehicles pay something...but saloons? Nada! I agree Malaba is better - though given the road conditions in Q1 and Q2 last year, Busia has been better. @Mkimwa, look for another discussion about roads somewhere in this labyrinth - some updates on roads to Uganda (both Busia and Malaba) - as recent as December 2009....

About Rwanda, hmmmm....I think just drive yourself....keep right on a straight road should be no big deal...just overtaking when sitting on the right and driving on the right is definitely a hair raising experience...have a capable driver as a co-driver if possible and let him make the judgement call about when to overtake. BTW never been to Rwanda but I hear you can converse widely in chiswahili and English....

@Djinn,
Maybe i put it casually......Kshs 3,600 takes care of your TP insurance needs even if the car is one and a half the size of your bomber (7 seater).Comprehensive is damn expensive.........secondly,Eldoret-Malaba is in horrible shape especially after Turbo and so is Suzanna-Sega section on the Busia route.I still would prefer the Kisumu route and to avoid that bad section,tee off to the left at Ebuyangu and head straight to Mayoni,then Busia.