2,000 vehicles held at port over eight-year rule

By PATRICK BEJA

Mombasa, Kenya: More than 2,000 imported motor vehicles have been held up at the port of Mombasa over the eight-year age rule.

The vehicles imported from Japan are reportedly lying in Mombasa after the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) declined to clear them because they were more than eight years after arrival.

Importers have pleaded with Transport and Infrastructure Cabinet Secretary Mr Michael Kamau and his Industrialisation counterpart Adan Mohamed to order the release of the vehicles.

Kebs Coast regional manager Mr Vincent Cheruiyot confirmed the vehicles were still held up.

He said the vehicles were inspected in Japan in November last year but arrived early this year.

“The matter has been  forwarded to our headquarters in Nairobi. The vehicles arrived late and their clearance can only be made in Nairobi,” Cheruiyot said.

Kebs and the Car Importers Association of Kenya (CIAK) are embroiled in the dispute with the latter insisting the vehicles passed the eight-year inspection by Kebs agents in Japan but ships ferrying them arrived in Mombasa late.

The CIAK national chairman Peter Otieno argues since the vehicles were inspected and cleared by Kebs agents in Japan, the voyage logistics which delayed their arrival in Mombasa should not be used to penalise importers.

In a letter to Kebs, Mr Otieno said a ship carrying the vehicles left Japan on December 1 last year and was expected to arrive in Mombasa on December 25, but did not make it owing to voyage logistics.

“There are vehicles that came earlier with their certificates valid but your officers have declined to release them. We are going by the first month of registration and a unit that was first registered in January 2006 will be eight years old at the end January and not before then,” it reads.