Ringtone not eligible for arrest in KRA sting

Musician Ringtone Apoko has escaped arrest over his personalised car number plates, after revealing that he has removed the illegal plates and replaced them with those bearing authorised numbers.

Speaking to Capital Newsbeat, Ringtone said he had only used the plates for a video shoot.

“I only used it when I was doing a shooting, I no longer use it and now my vehicle has registration numbers issued by the KRA. I no longer use the one with my name,” the musician said on telephone.

He declined to reveal how he obtained the registration number plates with his name, and instead referred us to the Kenya Revenue Authority.

Police and the Registrar of Motor Vehicles on Thursday launched a major crackdown on motorists who’ve customized their vehicles with their names instead of registration numbers.

The Registrar of Motor Vehicles at KRA, Francis Meja said anyone with his/her name on the registration plate will be arrested.

“All I can tell you is that those people are committing an offence which is punishable by law. I have held discussions with the police and action must be taken,” Meja said in an interview at his Times Tower office.

“Section 12 of the Traffic Act is very clear on prescribed number plates. These numbers are the ones we call un-prescribed number plates. They are not authorised.”

Apart from Ringtone, footballer MacDonald Mariga and some politicians including Makadara MP Mike Sonko are using personalized number plates.

“We have notified the Traffic police to take appropriate action,” he warned.

There have been widespread misconceptions that the authority issues personalized number plates at fees ranging between Sh150,000 to Sh300,000.

Motorists with reflective number plates are also targeted in the crackdown.

By BERNARD MOMANYI

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