Motorists who use their vehicles to smuggle goods into the country without paying taxes face a fresh legal setback after the High Court ruled that such vehicles are liable to forfeiture.
High Court Judge Diana Kavedza ruled that once a person is convicted of bringing goods into the country without paying taxes to the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the vehicle used in the offence ceases to be private property and becomes a State asset.
She overturned a magistrate's court order that had freed a vehicle to its owner following the conclusion of a trial. "The conviction alone, in accordance with section 215, rendered the vehicle liable to forfeiture.
The vehicle, therefore, ceased to be subject to private claim and became condemned in law upon his conviction.
