Gaming machines confiscated during a past crackdown. The operators want the crackdown stopped. [Photo/theeastafrica.co.ke]
A High Court has warned government officials against interfering with the activities of gaming machine operators.Nairobi High Court judge John Mativo noted police were still harassing the operators despite an order restraining them form the same.Mativo's directive came after lawyer Kibe Mungai, representing the petitioners, said the operators were still being harassed despite the court order."The orders barring government agencies, through the police, from interfering with gaming operators’ activities are still in force until the case is determined," the judge ruled on Wednesday.The court further gave the nod to more than 300 gaming machine operators who have given notice to file a suit to be enjoined in the case.In the petition, the operators, are challenging Betting Control and Licensing Board’s (BCLB) directive to all County Commissioners to mount 'a major crackdown, confiscate gaming machines and arraign the operators in a court of law'.They argue that the directive, issued by Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i early this year, has led to loss of property yet they had been duly licensed and regulated by respective county governments.The case will be heard on February 28, 2018.