A staggering 19 routes were mapped in with report classified the routes into three: Ethiopia routes, Tanzania routes and Uganda routes.
All these routes lead to Nairobi, Mombasa and any other urban centres in the country.
According to the study, traffickers strategically adjust their routes to avoid police detection, often shifting paths and establishing new routes along major transport corridors.
Some utilize "panya routes" (unmanned, hidden paths) along highways, lakes, and even forests.
“Cannabis trafficking routes are not linear and traffickers have a network of highly paid informers and spies who undertake surveillance along the major highways and roads,” said a police officer from Mombasa specializing in narcotics cases.
“This facilitates easy movement of cannabis to evade law enforcement.”
The security implications of this are significant, underscoring the need for heightened intelligence gathering and rapid-response surveillance across the country.
The complex network of traffickers also incorporates sophisticated surveillance technology, using informers and spies who conduct risk assessments to update traffickers on police presence along the routes.
One police officer with experience in Nakuru County shared an example of how traffickers avoid detection.
“I once got intelligence from one of my informers that bhang was being transported from Moyale to Nairobi. To evade detection, the traffickers used Bute route to Garissa, and from Garissa, they went to Thika, then to Nakuru (through Kamwangi forest road) and were thereafter headed for Nairobi when we ambushed and arrested them,” he recounted.
Given the increasingly complex network of cannabis trafficking routes, Kenyan law enforcement has responded by intensifying intelligence operations, surveillance, and impromptu checkpoints on highways and feeder roads.
“This is why we also intensify our surveillance and sometimes erect impromptu roadblocks and checks on the highways and feeder roads across the country,” the Mombasa-based officer emphasized.
Despite these efforts, the adaptive strategies employed by traffickers, including the constant use of informers and “panya routes,” make it difficult to stem the flow entirely.
With the cannabis routes continually shifting based on real-time intelligence, Kenyan law enforcement faces an ongoing challenge.
Here are the routes:
Ethiopian Routes
Routes originating from Ethiopia enter Kenya primarily through Moyale, proceeding through towns and regions with varied detours:
1. Ethiopia - Moyale - Mandera - Garissa - Mombasa
2. Ethiopia - Moyale - Marsabit - Isiolo - Meru/Nairobi
3. Ethiopia - Moyale - Garissa - Thika - Nakuru - Nairobi/Mombasa
4. Ethiopia - Marsabit - Great North Road or Mandera - Wajir - Garissa - Nairobi - Mombasa
5. Ethiopia - Moyale - Mandera - Garissa - Thika - Nairobi
6. Ethiopia - Marsabit - Lake Turkana - Lodwar - Kitale
7. Ethiopia - Forole - Kargi - Wamba - Maralal - Nyahururu - Nairobi
8. Ethiopia - Moyale - Brum - Shur - Marki - Isiolo - Maua - Meru
Tanzanian Routes
Key routes from Tanzania, mostly originating from Migori and other Lake Victoria areas, weave through western Kenya’s rural roads and eventually converge on major urban centers:
1. Tanzania - Migori - Kisii - Narok - Ntulele - Mai Mahiu - Naivasha - Nairobi/Mombasa
2. Tanzania - Migori - Oyugis - Kisumu - Eldoret
3. Tanzania - Migori - Kisii - Kericho - Nakuru - Naivasha - Nairobi - Mombasa
4. Tanzania - Muhuru Bay (Lake Victoria) - Migori - Rongo - Kisii - Narok - Naivasha - Nairobi/Mombasa
Ugandan Routes
Routes from Uganda enter Kenya through border points at Busia and Malaba, utilizing major highways and lake access points to move shipments southward:
1. Uganda - Busia/Malaba - Kisumu - Kericho - Nakuru - Nairobi - Southern Bypass Mlolongo - Mombasa
2. Uganda - Malaba - Bungoma - Kiminini - Eldoret - Nairobi
3. Uganda - Busia/Malaba - Kisumu - Chepilat - Kaplong - Narok - Nairobi/Mombasa
4. Uganda - Busia/Malaba - Kisumu - Kericho - Nakuru - Nairobi - Mlolongo - Mariakani - Kilifi - Lamu
5. Uganda - Busia/Malaba - Kisumu - Kericho - Nakuru - Nairobi - Mombasa
6. Uganda - Sio Port - Busia (Lake Victoria) - Kisumu - Kericho - Nakuru - Nairobi - Mombasa
7. Uganda - Migingo Island (Lake Victoria) - Mbita - Homa Bay - Kisii - Narok - Nairobi/Mombasa