Country of fakes: Why everything you use could be harming you

Impounded boxes containing counterfeit electronic goods at the residence of a Chinese national in Mombasa. The Multi-Agency Committee impounded fake electronics worth Sh3.5 million during the swoop. [File, Standard]

A new report has revealed shocking details of fake products circulating in the Kenyan market in what should worry consumers.

Everyday products such as baby diapers, cooking oil, food seasoning, cables, cosmetics, yoghurt, cheese, mango juice, medicines, decoders, tomato sauce, alcoholic beverages and bottled water are some of the most imitated products whose impact on consumers can be life threatening. 

Some of the alcoholic drinks that have been counterfeited include Jack Daniels, Simba Waragi Spirit, Georgi Vodka, Chelsea Dry Gin, Georgia Peach Vodka and Captain Morgan among other wines and spirits.

This means that as you enjoy your favourite drink while watching the World Cup this weekend, the contents you imbibe might be fake and dangerous to your health.

These shocking claims are contained in a report of the Presidential Round Table sessions in May 2018, which created a Multi-Agency Committee (MAC) to spearhead efforts to eradicate illicit trade.

The team is headed by by the Deputy Head of Public Service Wanyama Musiambo.  

The report reveals that almost everything you consume is now being faked as unscrupulous traders move to cash-in on unsuspecting consumers always looking out for a bargain, unaware of the consequences.

The government has lined up for destruction 64 drums and 102 pallets of expired food stuffs, 140 bags of shoes, medical supplies, various house hold goods and more than 172 containers of various goods.

Daylight robbery

“In summary, goods worth Sh7.5 billion have been seized and a total of 179 foreign nationals arrested and charged in court or deported for being in the country without proper documentation since the inception of the Multi-Agency team,” the report says.

“Suspects involved in counterfeiting or in possession of unaccustomed goods have also been arrested and arraigned in court,” it adds.

And it is getting worse. Some of the dealers have become so brave they now parade their counterfeited products in broad daylight during trade fares and expos right in the middle of Nairobi’s central business district.   

Some Chinese traders were recently arrested while marketing knock-off East African Cables products at an international expo of Chinese companies at the Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC).

East Africa Cables, which produces some of the most sought after electrical wires, has lost market share to imitators.     

Not even the health consequences of these fake products can deter the imitators. For instance, two Somali traders were caught changing expiry dates of rice in Mombasa. Some of this expired rice could have ended up on tables of pilau loving Kenyans at a wedding ceremony.

The farmer in you might just be poisoning your retirement plan. Other faked products found include fertiliser, livestock pellets and other animal feeds like growers mash, kienyeji mash, layers mash and mineral supplements. 

Women have also been expressly targeted by counterfeiters as whole shipments of banned cosmetics have been intercepted. This could explain that rush or change in skin pigmentation soon after a session with your salonist or make-up artist.

Nothing seems to be safe, not least the roof you sleep under. Counterfeiters have not spared roofing tiles, ridges and gutters. Some of the most popular brands that have been counterfeited include the stone coated roofing iron sheets Decra and Sky Value. The stone coated ‘Edeli’ roofing materials have also been counterfeited.

Other fake products in the market include softwood timber, galvanised iron sheets and fridge guards among others. The popular Sollatek trademark ad Phillips bulbs are some of the electrical brands that have suffered this infringement.  

There are even fake GoTV decoders in the market.

Interior Secretary Fred Matiangi has said the multi-agency operation is bearing fruit.

“Our first priority was to remove contaminated sugar and other products from circulation, an exercise that we can report has been successful so far,” he said in his brief to Parliament.

The government’s approach, Matiang’i said, has been to mount an intelligence-led nationwide crackdown covering all the 47 counties.

So far 1,422,661 bags of sugar, 1,484 bags of rice, 87,805 bags of fertilizer and 90 cartons of assorted liquor have been impounded while 72 arrests have been made.

An unauthorised water bottling plant was found refilling the Top Aqua brand. Imitations of Zesta peanut butter, Choco Premio, Gilda tomato paste and the Zein fry edible oils have also been found.

Computers were not spared either with counterfeit toner cartridges found from among the popular HP brand.

Branded shoes have also been imitated. Investigators found Adidas caterpillar shoes, Nike shoes and an assortment of other counterfeit shoes in their crackdown. Even undergarments have been faked.

Motor vehicle spare parts have also been extensively imitated. There are fake Caterpillar and Perkins branded oil filters, oil and water separators, fuel filters, hydraulic filters and air filters in the market.  

Lost taxes

Also found was a whole package of Shell branded products.

Toyota auto parts are the most faked. These fake motor vehicle spare parts are exposing the country to risks of accidents on the road.

The Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM), which for years has lamented loss of business to imitators, estimates that Kenyan manufacturers are losing at least 40 per cent of their market share to counterfeiters.

KAM says an approximate Sh30 billion ($42 million) is lost by Kenyan manufacturers per year, while the government loses Sh6 billion ($80 million) annually in potential tax revenue.

“Counterfeits also erode brand reputation in as much as they eat into their market share. It discourages continuous innovation into new product lines as innovators are anxious that their products will be counterfeited,” KAM Chair Flora Mutahi said in a statement.

Cumulatively and as a ripple effect, the total losses of potential income has been placed at Sh200 billion every year.

KAM now wants the government to criminalise counterfeiting to make it an economic crime.

Players in the alcohol industry said they share information with distilleries to ensure products they sell are genuine. But they are helpless given that enforcement strictly lies with government agencies.  

Countrywide problem 

In total, agricultural and livestock goods worth Sh340 million were seized. Beauty and cosmetics goods valued at Sh484,000 were found while Sh270 million worth of fake liquor was seized.

In the building and construction sector, goods valued at Sh182 million were seized, Sh299 million worth of electrical households, Sh16.2 million in food stuffs, Sh368,000 in ICT and Sh36.6 million leather.

In the motor vehicle industry, the detectives found imitated goods worth Sh10.7 million. Oil and gas products worth Sh1.6 million, Sh828 million in cigarettes and Sh131 million textiles were also found.

But it is contraband sugar that crowned the operation after stock worth Sh5.3 billion was found.

That fake goods are being found across the country means that the trade has now been exported to the devolved units.

Some of the goods that have been seized and destroyed were found in Eldoret, Mombasa road, Kiambu, Dandora, Kajiado and Nyandarua. River Road area is the main hub for the distribution of fake cosmetics products in Nairobi.