The Attorney General Kihara Kariuki is on the spotlight over President Uhuru Kenyatta’s scrap metal trade order which is already outlawed in law but not implemented.
Players in the scrap metal industry are now blaming the government for failing to implement the Scrap Metal Act which outlaws export of the product.
The Scrap Metal Act 2015 seeks to make provisions for the regulation and management of the scrap metal industry in Kenya. It seeks to control and regulate the handling of scrap metal.
The export of scrap metal; the licensing and registry and licensing of all scrap metal dealers and the provision for the establishment of a Scrap Metal Council for purposes of streamlining the management of the sector.
Kihara has over time been accused of misadvising the president, in this case the president should have ordered the implementation of scrap metal act rather than banning the trade.
Kenyatta announced a moratorium on scrap metal trade in the country as part of Government efforts to end the rising cases of vandalism of key public installations.
The President said the moratorium will stay in place until after the Government puts in place adequate measures to effectively police the sourcing, trade and export of scrap metal warning that those found culpable for vandalism of state infrastructure will be dealt with firmly.
While referring to recent vandalism of electricity transmission infrastructure, the Standard Gauge Railway and communication masts, Kenyatta termed the acts as economic sabotage saying the Government won’t tolerate the destruction.
“We have seen towers of our transmission lines coming down as a result of vandalism. But we have also seen cases (like was in Naivasha) where people have intentionally vandalised some of our transmission lines and masts.”
“These are acts of nothing less than economic sabotage which is a treasonable act and the law is very clear as to how you deal with individuals who commit treasonable acts and plunge the country into chaos for their own selfish needs.
“As such, we expect you (Police) to do your duty and to execute your function as the law dictates,” ordered the President.
Kenyatta has continuously lost various legal battles bringing into sharp focus the role of the AG and whether he is giving the head of state sound advice.
From the loss of cases on the attempt to change the Constitution, by the government, through the Building Bridges Initiative (BBI), to the cases touching on appointment of judges, rejected by Kenyatta, the President’s chief legal advisor has had one to many losses.
Other than losing the cases, the government has been put on the spot for failing to obey court orders.
In fact, a judge went on and rebuked the government for ignoring to obey court orders and lashed out at the AG Kihara for not being assertive in advising the State to comply with court decisions.
The Government also lost to Somalia in a maritime dispute at the International Court of Justice, a decision which President Kenyatta later dismissed vowing not to cede even an inch of Kenya’s territory.