This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
On July 4, 2019, the National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) launched a crackdown on businesses operating irregularly, resulting in the closure of at least 56 enterprises across the country.
Among those affected were traders found distributing banned plastic bags, with 46 of them arrested in Busia County in the last one week alone.
NEMA's director in charge of Busia, Edward Menza, revealed that the banned bags enter the country through the Kenya-Uganda border.
A consignment of 1000 bales of plastic bags was confiscated in the border town, and arrests were made.
Similar crackdowns were also carried out in Kabarnet town, where business owners clashed with NEMA officials during raids on hotels, resorts, tertiary colleges, and petrol stations.
10 people were arrested for poor sanitation, and managers of the affected premises were taken in for failing to comply with water quality regulations.
NEMA has vowed to sustain the crackdown in other towns to ensure that institutions and businesses operate within the law.
