A new bill that seeks to fine Kenyans Ksh100,000 for destruction of street signs and names is currently before the Senate for consideration.
The bill, named the Street Naming And Property Addressing System Bill, 2024, is sponsored by Isiolo Senator Fatuma Dullo and seeks to alter the way Kenyan and county streets are named.
According to the bill, if passed by the Senate, any Kenyan who will destroy or pull down a street signage or name shall be liable to a fine of Ksh100,000.
The bill also proposes a two-year jail term for those found guilty.
''A person who destroys, pulls down or defaces a street name or number commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both,'' the bill reads in part.
In achieving its operational framework, the bill by Dullo seeks to establish a National Addressing Council, which will be a government body responsible for the naming of Kenyan streets.
The National Addressing Council will encompass key members who will include the Principal Secretaries in the Ministries of Treasury, Lands, Internal Security and Transport.
Additionally, the council will also include representatives from the Council of Governors, the Attorney General, and a Registrar who will act as the secretary to the council.
Further, Dullo’s bill will also seek to fine Ksh100,000 to any Kenyan who holds data on the street names and fails to put them on the National Address System.
''A holder of address data who fails to comply with this section of this Act commits an offence and is liable, on conviction, to a fine not exceeding one hundred thousand shillings or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or to both,'' the bill adds in part.
In the past, there have been controversies surrounding the naming of streets in Kenya, particularly in major cities like Nairobi. This was because there was no legal framework to regulate the naming.
This saw the signage of a street that had been named after Central Organization of Trade Union(COTU) Secretary General Francis Atwoli in Kileleshwa pulled down by some residents.
