This archive report was first published on 4 May 2021.
As of May 4, 2021, Murang'a County has become a hub for an unregulated trade in scrap metal, driven by a rising demand for steel, copper, and other metals.
The demand is being met by small-scale dealers who are scouring the county for anything metallic, with the infrastructure and transport sector being particularly hard hit.
According to the Kenya Urban Roads Authority (Kura), rampant theft of cables, street lights, guard rails, and road signs has been blamed on 'unscrupulous and barbaric scrap metal dealers who not only endanger the lives of road users but also render the maintenance of roads expensive.'
Motorcycles, which cost an average of Sh100,000 new, are being sold to scrap metal dealers for as little as Sh20 per kilogram, with the dealers then selling spare parts for between Sh40,000 and Sh80,000.
Police in Maragua recently raided a scrap metal warehouse in Boarder estate, arresting one suspect and recovering two motorcycles.
Chief Inspector Cleophas Juma stated that 'when criminals steal the motorcycles--in some instances murdering the owners--as they seek to dispose of them before they are tracked and arrested, they opt to sell them off as scrap metal.'
Dealers in this trade target everything that has metallic value, including barbed wire, cooking pots, gas cylinders, spoons, and jikos.
Several hardware shops have been broken into, with metallic stocks stolen only to end up sold to scrap metal dealers.
