Scandal of imported ‘converted’ ambulances

Ambulances in a garage. Busia residents are furious over the death of an expectant mother after an ambulance driver failed to take her to a different hospital for failure to pay a Sh1,000 bribe. PHOTO | COURTESY |

What you need to know:

  • Investigation reveals some of the vehicles were originally left-hand drive but were changed to right-hand in unauthorised garages in Dubai.
  • While some counties have imported ambulances directly others have leased them from the Kenya Red Cross at an average cost of Sh600,000 a month for every vehicle.

Some county governments may have been duped into buying ambulances whose cost and safety have been called into question.

Inquiries by the Sunday Nation indicate that some of the ambulances were converted from left-hand drive (LHD) to right-hand drive (RHD) in unlicensed garages in Dubai after which they were shipped to Kenya.

The investigations point an accusing finger at unscrupulous county government officials, who in some cases have been colluding with businessmen in Dubai, to buy LHD vehicles that are much cheaper and converting them to RHD.

According to a motor dealer in Dubai who did not wish to be named, the converted LHD to RHD ambulances are cheaper by an average of $20,000 (Sh1.7 million) per unit.

This is the amount corrupt county officials and unscrupulous dealers are said to be targeting for each ambulance at the expense of the taxpayer’s safety.

In some cases, county governments have bought into the scheme without getting full information from the crooked officials that the vehicles were cheaper than claimed and could be death traps.

Such conversions are a highly technical undertaking, often requiring expert mechanical expertise.

A motor dealer in Dubai, who responded to our questions on condition of anonymity, said the “unscrupulous business” was against the industry’s ethics and laws.

“We have been approached by customers or car traders from East Africa to supply left-hand drive-converted vehicles to right-hand drive from the Middle East market. But there are no authorised dealers for conversion in Dubai, and it is done in shacks or garages,” said our source.

The Sunday Nation obtained pictures of some of the ambulances which are still in Dubai waiting to be shipped to Mombasa on behalf of some counties.

We cannot publish the names of the counties for legal reasons. The chassis numbers of the ambulances provided to us showed they were LHD and not RHD vehicles.

Most garages in the part of Dubai where Kenyan officials have been buying the ambulances are run by Pakistan and Afghanistan nationals and can be likened to Nairobi’s Kariobangi Light Industries that is notorious for counterfeit goods.

RED FLAG

On Thursday, Toyota Kenya raised the red flag in a newspaper advertisement, warning buyers of the dangers of using vehicles — particularly ambulances — that have been illegally converted from LHD to RHD.

“Don’t let your eyes deceive you. Is your converted vehicle genuine and legal?” read the advertisement.

Since most ambulances imported were Toyota Land Cruisers, the company’s local dealership has expressed concern on the importation of illegally converted vehicles.

“We are very concerned about this information and are following up,” said Toyota Kenya Group Marketing Manager Mary Chege.

She said the company would work closely with the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) and the Ministry of Transport to ensure they have put in place mechanisms for detecting if a vehicle had undergone conversion.

“As you are aware there are very many sources of second-hand vehicles into Kenya and we trust that the authorities are working hard to ensure adherence to import regulations at the point of entrance,” said Ms Chege.

In a telephone conversation Kebs director in charge of imports John Abongs said the processes of inspecting imports should flag faulty vehicles.

“We may not be aware but if the conversion causes nonperformance, then our agencies should have picked up on that. However, remember that even here (in Kenya) some people have converted cars from LHD to RHD. There is suspicion that it would be a safety issue, but it’s not a difficult thing,” said Mr Abongs, before referring us to Kebs Managing Director Charles Ongwae.

Kebs Director of Human Resource and Communication Chris Kibett also kept to the line that no faulty vehicles had been flagged during inspection.

INSPECTION

“Vehicle imports into Kenya are inspected by appointed agencies who ensure that they are roadworthy,” said Mr Kibett, quoting the section of the law that requires inspection.

Last week, a pre-shipment agency, Jevic Africa Limited, that checks vehicles imported into the country, denied clearing any illegally converted vehicles.

“We have checked our internal inspection details database and there are no records of Jevic having conducted inspections on these ambulances,” said Jevic General Manager Nicky Thairu.

On Saturday, motoring expert Mike Mwai expressed concern over illegal conversions.

“Imagine what would happen when components related to safety need to be changed. Think of all the sensors that control steering angles, suspension bounce rates and traction control. The air bags too need to be shifted and still deploy at the right time. Today’s modern vehicle cannot be fixed by a mechanic. What you need is someone trained in mechatronics,” he said.

Mr Mwai added that issues of warranty would also cause problems in case of an accident.

County governments have been trying to ease the movement of patients to medical facilities.

While some have imported ambulances directly others have leased them from the Kenya Red Cross at an average cost of Sh600,000 a month for every vehicle.

Kenya Red Cross director Abbas Gullet said that the ambulances they leased out to counties are better than those imported vehicles in terms of quality and equipment.

Counties that have leased the ambulances are Kakamega, Bungoma, Kisii, Bomet, Kericho, among others.

Bomet County governor Isaac Ruto said leasing was more cost effective than the county buying its own ambulances. His county had hired six ambulances at a cost of Sh3.6 million.

Those that have bought ambulance or are in the process of buying the vehicles from dealers in Kenya and abroad have argued against leasing.