Landlords will be expected to report to the National Intelligence Service (NIS) and give information regarding tenants who may be suspected of being involved in the drug trade. This is if a new law sails through in Parliament.
A report by Business Daily on Thursday, January 7, indicated that the new law, which is part of the Narcotics, Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Amendment Bill, will require landlords to keep identifying details of all their tenants.
The details include the names of the tenants, their postal addresses, Phone numbers and email addresses.
The landlords will also be required to do background research of their tenants to include their places of work as well as home countries.
The new requirement is expected to equip the intelligence agency and the state with the proper information of 4.7 million Kenyans who rent houses countrywide.
This law was developed with the aim of aiding the NIS in the fight against illegal drug sales by supporting the police service to properly track down suspected perpetrators and bring them to book.
Landlords who fail to keep records of their tenants or do background research will be liable for an offense punishable by a fine of Ksh1 million or two years in jail.
"Every owner, occupier or persons concerned with the management of any premises shall keep a register in his premises and shall enter the name and address of every tenant occupier who occupies the premise.
"The rationale of the new section is to provide for landlords and owners of buildings to conduct due diligence on their tenants and occupiers of their premises," read the proposal in part.
The bill is slated for a second reading at the National Assembly.
In a December 2020 interview, Police Spokesperson Charles Owino explained that the state had resorted to the move in its effort against the drug trade that has become rampant in the country.
Owino also noted that current laws were pretty punitive for drug users and authorities were looking to make it mandatory that Kenyans who know drug users are compelled to report them or face the law.
As of 2019, marijuana, popularly known as bhang, was among the most abused drugs in Kenya despite rising activism for the drug to be legalised for medicinal purposes.
In September 2020, Narok Senator Ledama Ole Kina confirmed to Kenyans.co.ke that he was considering reviving former Kibra MP the late Ken Okoth's 2018 bill that sought to legalise bhang.
