Alai: Let Kenyans have their sex toys
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) has drawn criticism for its plan to destroy a cache of unclaimed sex toys that have remained uncollected in customs warehouses in the Rift Valley region since 2016.
Among those opposing the move is the Member of County Assembly for Kileleshwa Ward, Robert Alai, who believes the items should be released to the owners after the payment of necessary fees.
Alai voiced his disapproval during a press conference on Friday.
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“KRA, let these people have their sex toys. Stop interfering with what people do in their privacy and break no law. Release these things and let them just pay the small fees required. Stop living in the past,” Alai said.
John Gathatwa, the Customs and Border Control chief manager for the Rift Valley region, announced the planned destruction in a gazette notice dated April 20, 2023.
“Notice is given that unless the under-mentioned goods are entered and removed from the custody of the Customs Warehouse Keeper within 30 days of this notice, they will be treated as abandoned and will be disposed of by destruction or otherwise disposed of in such manner as the Commissioner may direct on May 22, 2022,” Gathatwa said.
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Other than the sex toys, the unclaimed items include beer, sugar, shisha apparatus and flavours, locally manufactured beer brands, car tyres, assorted medicines, tobacco brands, bedsheets, body lotion and seeds.
However, this move has sparked a wider debate about privacy and the role of government in the personal lives of citizens.
Moreover, the fact that such a large quantity of sex toys remains unclaimed years after importation raises questions about the import process in Nakuru and why these items were never collected by the importers.
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