The state has withdrawn a case against a scrap metal dealer arrested while ferrying scrap metal along the Namanga border without a license.
Voi Law Court senior principal magistrate Cecilia Githinji in her ruling allowed the application made by Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) seeking for withdrawal of the matter due to lack of evidence.
Githinji heard that KRA was unable to prosecute the case, since the suspect, had reached an out-of-court settlement with the owner of the truck that had been used in ferrying the scrap metal.
"Investigations indicate that the state witness who had been bonded by KRA is not ready to testify against the suspect after they reached an outside settlement," a KRA investigator stated.
The magistrate ordered the file closed.
"After listening to the application l hereby order the file closed due to lack of prosecution witness," she stated.
Last month the driver of the vehicle that was ferrying the scrap metal, was charged with illegally exporting scrap batteries to Tanzania without a licence.
The court ordered him to pay a fine of Sh30,000.
The fine has triggered an uproar in the wake of efforts by authorities to end the smuggling of scrap metal.
The law provides that the penalty for smuggling of scrap metal is Sh1 million or a jail term of five years in prison.
The suspect has appeared before Justice Githinji and pleaded guilty to the charges.
He was charged that on May 26 this year, being the driver of the truck, he was illegally exporting scrap batteries to Tanzania without a license.
Scrap Metal Council chairman Francis Mugo said it was unfortunate that its efforts to bring sanity to the sector were being derailed.
“Imagine where a person commits a crime about scrap metal and the Act stipulates a fine of Sh1 million and the accused is fined Sh30,000?” posed Mugo.
“We call on the Chief Justice to look into these matters and advice, as the council is getting frustrated in its efforts,” he added.
Mugo said transporting scrap metal at night is illegal and the export of scrap batteries is prohibited but you find the people doing the business illegally are either released or given a very low fine which encourages the continuity of the crime.
According to the Scrap Metal Act, 2022, any person who contravenes this section of the law commits an offence and is liable on conviction to a fine not exceeding Sh1 million or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or to both.
Scrap metal dealers have severally called for more punitive penalties slapped on those caught smuggling the materials out. They blame the courts and enforcement agencies for working with dealers.
They say the vice helps in the escalation of the illegal business along the porous Kenyan borders.
According to Kenya’s Scrap Metal Council, scrap metal smuggling in East Africa is enabled by porous borders in Busia, Namanga, Taveta and Lunga Lunga and smuggled into Uganda and Tanzania.