A Kabarnet Court on Monday, July 24, fined two Kenyans Ksh50,000 each or sentenced them to serve six months in prison for transporting 120 bags of charcoal without a permit.
The two were nabbed on July 21 at around 7 PM at Labos area in Baringo County.
The two charcoal dealers were caught transporting the charcoal using a white lorry without a permit from the Chief Conservator of Forests.
The two were apprehended by officers from Marigat police station and placed under custody on the same day.
Principal Magistrate Caroline Ateya convicted them of the offense of transporting forest produce without a license, a violation of the Forest Conservation and Management Act of 2016 in Kenya.
Ateya ordered the state to seize the 120 bags of charcoal with an estimated street value of Ksh 96,000.
The first accused appealed to the court for acquittal, emphasizing that he is the sole breadwinner of his family, and that he has two children depending on him.
The second accused made a similar plea, requesting the court for leniency stating that she is a single mother with four children.
The first accused pleaded with the court to order that the lorry be handed back to him, asserting that it was used as security for a bank loan that he was still servicing.
The Principal Magistrate however, gave the first accused 14 days to come up with concrete reasons as to why the impounded vehicle should not be forfeited.
The court ruling came at a time environmental experts were faulting President William Ruto's decision to lift a six-year ban on logging. The decision had led to invasion of forests and exploitation of the country's natural resources prompting Environment Cabinet Secretary Soipan Tuya to reverse the decision citing an increasing number of people encroaching the forests.
She stated that Kenyans across the country were engaging in illegal activities such as charcoal burning, building structures and even leasing out forest land.
