Police across the country have moved to auction vehicles and other items that have remained uncollected at stations and storage yards, after owners failed to claim them despite several notices. The sales, scheduled for March, follow a Kenya Gazette notice dated February 13 giving owners between seven and thirty days to clear outstanding charges and pick up their property before it is sold to the highest bidder without any further communication.
In Meru County, Igoji Police Station will dispose of 15 motorcycles after receiving approval from the Nkubu Law Court. The bikes, which are widely used for both business and private transport, include five Captain 150cc models, two Boxer 150cc units and two Tiger 150cc motorcycles.
Other brands listed for sale are TVS, Skygo, Songyi, Bremier and Dayun. Seven of the motorcycles have no registration numbers, while one has an unclear chassis number. The final item in the Meru lot is assorted scrap metal, with no detailed description provided.
Meanwhile, in Homa Bay County, Karungu Police Station has announced the auction of an Ashok Leyland commercial lorry as part of the disposal exercise.
Beyond police stations, private auctioneers are also set to sell several abandoned and repossessed vehicles in different parts of the country. In Nairobi, a Suzuki vehicle that has remained unclaimed at a storage yard will go under the hammer. Three more vehicles, among them two minibuses and a sedan, will be auctioned after being repossessed over unpaid dues.
Another vehicle will be sold from a separate yard, while a salvage truck in Mombasa is also lined up for disposal after the owner did not collect it.
The auctions are being conducted under the Disposal of Uncollected Goods Act, Cap 38 of the Laws of Kenya. Section 5 of the law outlines the process for selling goods left with bailees, which in this case include police stations holding impounded vehicles.
Under the law, reasonable steps must be taken to trace the owners and notify them of the intention to sell the goods. Publishing the notice in the Kenya Gazette meets this requirement, meaning owners are considered informed whether or not they have seen the gazette.
