Law protects property, exhibits under custody of enforcement agencies

A study on unclaimed end-of-life vehicles in Nairobi between January and May 2013,  established there were 240 unclaimed, non-operational vehicles in police yards at the time.

Out of these, 26 belonged to the police stations.

The study jointly conducted by Kenya Vision 2030 secretariat, Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources, Ministry of Transport, Automobile Association of Kenya and the insurance industry found that most (42 per cent) of the vehicles in the yards were private cars while 24 per cent were public service vehicles. Sixteen per cent of the vehicles were bused while 14 per cent were pickups and lorries. The remaining four per cent were tractors and heavy commercial trucks.

The study established that 30 per cent of the vehicles and motorbikes lying at the yards had been impounded by traffic officers for unknown reasons.

“From the study, it is clear that health hazard risks, visual pollution and contamination of land and water supplies are the major environmental impacts identified. In addition to the potential impacts on the environment, possible interventions such as policy development were identified,” the report states in part.

According to the National Police Service Act, an exhibit coming into possession of a police officer in the course of his official duty should not be sold, given away, junked, destroyed or disposed of in any manner other than by court order and other relevant laws.

“Officers must always respect the property of others and protect the value and usefulness of the property of others in the custody of the service. They should also not use exhibits obtained in the course of investigations for whatever purposes other than for legal requirements,” police spokesman Bruno Shioso says.

Vandalism

According to the Evidence Act, there are ways in which individuals can be protected from suffering losses, such as the production of certified photographs instead of the actual exhibits.

The Act requires that property seized by officers should be returned to its rightful owner as soon as it is apparent that it shall be of no use in any court action including appeals, according to police regulations.

Officers should not return the property to an individual in possession of that property is illegal. Most Kenyans have raised concerns over vandalism and theft of vehicle parts in police stations.

Some of these exhibits are never safe in almost all stations.

Members of the Police Service have also lamented that guarding the exhibits is a big hassle as miscreants are always on the lookout to steal vehicle parts including tyres, radio and even side mirrors.