At least 17 proprietors of different establishments have been arrested by officers from the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) and the National Police Service.

In a statement on Sunday, July 13, NEMA revealed that the 17 had been arrested in an ongoing crackdown in the Wote, Tawa, Makindu, Kibwezi and Kathonzweni towns in Makueni County.

According to the authority, they contravened various NEMA regulations, including operating without environmental audits, effluent discharge license (EDL), as well as the use of banned plastic papers.

"Environmental Officers and NEMA police [sic] have arrested 17 proprietors for operating their establishments without Environmental Audits, Effluent Discharge License (EDL) and use of banned plastic bags," the statement read in part.

NEMA offices in Nairobi, Kenya.

Photo

Wkimedia Commons

"This followed a four-day enforcement swoop through the towns of Wote, Tawa, Makindu, Kibwezi and Kathonzweni to foster compliance with various environmental regulations."

Two of the 17 perpetrators have already been charged at the Makueni Law Courts, while the others await arraignment.

The authority has been carrying out crackdowns across the country, leaving a series of arrests of non-compliant proprietors in its wake.

On March 12, NEMA announced the arrests of two individuals who were found operating quarries in Nairobi without the necessary compliance certificates.

They were arrested at Mihang’o Estate, Embakasi East, after failing to heed earlier orders from the authority to restore the state of the mines they were operating.

The two are also facing charges related to failing to implement measures to control air pollution from their mining activities.

Just a month earlier, on February 12, NEMA arrested the owner of a building under construction and the contractor working at a site in Kileleshwa, Nairobi, for failing to acquire requisite approvals. 

They were arrested for disobeying a lawful order stopping them from working on the premises without an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).

NEMA inspectors during a past operation.

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NEMA