What happens to lost property handed in to the police
National Police Service Act · sources read 3 Oct 2026
Police must take unclaimed property to the nearest police station and give a magistrate a description of it within 48 hours. The magistrate posts a notice, and the owner has 12 months from the notice to come forward and prove it is theirs.
- Deadline
- Claim within 12 months from the date of the magistrate's notice.
- Where
- Any police station; claims are made before the magistrate named in the notice
Steps
- Hand found property to a police officer or take it to the nearest police station.
- If you lost something, look out for the notice posted at the magistrate's court and police station describing found property.
- Appear before the magistrate (or the person named in the notice) and show the property is yours.
Watch out
- If no owner proves a claim within 12 months, the property may be sold as the magistrate directs. A lawful claimant gets the sale money; otherwise it goes to Government.
- Things that can go bad may be dealt with sooner, and firearms or ammunition are disposed of as the Inspector-General sets out.
Who this covers
- Anyone who hands in something they found, and the owner of any property the police find unclaimed.
Official sources (2)
- National Police Service Act (Cap. 84, No. 11A of 2011), s.63 new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Kenya Police Service home page kenyapolice.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026