Police in Juja, Kiambu county, have impounded more than 300,000 expired sanitary towels labelled Government of Kenya (GoK), while they were being repackaged.
Subcounty police commander Dorothy Migarusha said they were acting on a tip-off from the public when they discovered the consignment at a residence under construction in Witeithie Estate on Wednesday evening.
The police boss said that the sanitary towels are believed to have been stolen from several counties, including Murang’a, Mombasa, Kilifi and Kiambu, since 2018. They were being repackaged in order to resell them, she said.
Migarusha said police arrested Stephen Muchoki, owner of the premises where the consignment was kept, in Thika town on Wednesday night. He will be arraigned on Friday, she said.
“We have received reports from residents that these sanitary towels were brought here in 2018 and sacks were taken to an unknown destination," she said.
Residents told journalists they were concerned over increasing cases of urinary tract infections, saying they could be linked to the expired towels that could have been sold in the area.
"It’s saddening that criminals are minting millions at the expense of the health of thousands of innocent Kenyans. They should be locked up," resident Zena Cheruiyot said.
The state introduced the free sanitary towels for schoolgirls in 20111 and increased the budget in 2017-2018 to ensure no girl ailed to go to school due to lack of pads.
(Edited by V. Graham)