Guns, sex toys among items seized at JKIA during checks
KRA Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga said all goods intercepted at the point of entry, especially firearms and drones, must have the necessary permits issued by the relevant government departments.
The Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Customs Department at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) has in the last four months seized consignments of restricted items being brought into the country.
According to the KRA, 132 prohibited items and 431 restricted items were confiscated in a total of 440 interceptions between July and October 2023.
The restricted items included 14 sex toys, 58 shisha and shisha devices, 24 Viagra packs and 60 bleaching creams.
Also among the prohibited items intercepted were 339 drones, seven guns, 18 toy guns, 11 magazines, eight handcuffs and 24 walkie-talkies.
The items were said to have been found after passengers went through the KRA's passenger screening stations.
The list of items confiscated at Kenya's largest airport provides a glimpse of how the personal lives of Kenyans, mostly young people, have changed.
Tourism CS Alfred Mutua examines some of the items impounded at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport during a tour of the facility on Tuesday.
There has been an increased demand for both male and female sex toys locally, with a number of social media pages openly selling them.
Necessary permits
KRA Commissioner-General Humphrey Wattanga said all goods intercepted at the point of entry, especially firearms and drones, must have the necessary permits issued by the relevant government departments.
"We have a mandate to protect legitimate trade by ensuring that goods subject to duty are correctly valued and properly paid," he said.
For example, the KRA requires those importing drones to produce a number of certificates, including one for airworthiness.
Also read: At JKIA with ‘biltong’ and ‘kitenge’
The KRA said people visiting the country could, on departure, reclaim restricted items seized by its agents at the customs office.
The terminal visit was planned amid an uproar over increased interceptions of prohibited and restricted goods by the KRA's Border Control Enforcement Unit.
This means that most visitors to the country, or Kenyans who have travelled abroad and are returning, are unaware of the strict licensing requirements for some items entering the market.
But some Kenyans were unhappy with the exposure of the impounded items, accusing KRA of using diversionary tactics.
Political commentator Joyce Nyairo said: "Such a conniving way to rationalise harassment at JKIA—items that will raise moral panic, shame, and also gaslight arriving passengers into defending themselves, i.e allow search. Show us the confiscated perfumes, phones, shoes, laptops. Or have they found new owners already?"
