A Nairobi trader has been arrested by the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) officers after he was caught with 10 tonnes of paper bags.
Michael Nene was found by the NEMA officials selling the already banned plastic bags at his business premises on Moi Avenue in Nairobi.
Nene is the first casualty of the new laws outlawing the use of plastic bags for both domestic and commercial use.
"He said that the stock was bought before the ban but we did not believe him as we found him still selling," NEMA County Director Njoki Mukiri stated.
"We have brought a lorry and we are in the process of confiscating them before taking them to NEMA. The owner should have declared his stock for NEMA to link them with those doing recycling," she added.
The ban on the use of plastic bags was announced by Environment Cabinet Secretary (CS) Judi Wakhungu through a Gazette Notice in February.
NEMA warned that those violating the ban risked Sh4 Million fine or a two-year jail term.
Environment Principal Secretary Charles Sunkuli, however, explained that waste bin liners and primary food packaging were some of the plastics that were exempt from the ban.
Manufacturers argued that the move would lead to the loss of about 60,000 jobs directly and another 400,000 indirectly.
The government, however, disputed the figure stating there were measures in place to protect against job loss.
