The Scrap Metal Council chairperson Francis Mugo has vowed to take stiff legal action against businesses abetting vandalism.
Mugo issued the warning after a video was circulated online showing individuals vandalising road rails along the Thika Superhighway within the Ngara area of Nairobi.
“Arrests have already been made, and our law enforcement officers are actively pursuing additional suspects,” he said.
Mugo added that investigations are underway to determine where the vandals are selling the harvested scrap metal.
“We urge all scrap metal dealers across the country to desist from engaging in or aiding vandalism by refusing to provide a market for stolen metals from public infrastructure,” he said.
In January 2022, then-President Uhuru Kenyatta imposed an indefinite ban on the scrap metal trade to curb the increasing vandalism of key installations.
These included theft and vandalism of road barriers, guardrails, utility infrastructure, conductors, cables, copper wire, railway gauge blocks and rails, transformers and other materials.
He called it theft "nothing less than economic sabotage, which is treasonous".
In April 2022, the government said the ban on scrap metal trade had saved the country Sh3 billion in damages to critical infrastructure.
The moratorium was to be in effect until the government put in place regulations to control the sourcing, trade and export of scrap metals.
In May 2024, the Scrap Metal Council suspended the renewal and issuance of export licenses following a resurgence of wanton vandalism of critical national infrastructure.
Council called upon all licensed scrap metal dealers across the country to comply with the law and avoid abetting vandalism of critical national infrastructure.
The council urged all the licenced dealers to ensure they operate within the legal framework as per the Scrap Metal Act by identifying their source of material.
It noted that the country was, at the time, experiencing cases of power shortages in so many parts due to vandalism.
Scrap Metal Council is a State Corporation established vide Scrap Metal Act No.1 of 2015 and mandated to regulate the scrap metal industry in the country.
