State raids Kisumu fish processor over 'unsafe' imports

Government officials have made a surprise inspection of East African Sea Food Limited (EASF) in Kisumu over claims that its fish imports from China are unsafe for consumption.

The inspection by national and county government officials on Friday follows an outcry by regional leaders who blame the influx of imports for the sorry state of local fish markets.

Officials from the State Department of Fisheries and Kisumu County led by Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries Executive Henry Obade made an impromptu two-hour tour of the Kisumu-based processing plant before leaving with samples of the fish.

Mr Obade said the samples would be tested by the Government Chemist and “wide consultations done with experts before findings are made public”.

The processor had threatened to pull out of Kisumu over complaints by politicians that its products are not safe for consumption.

“We want to argue with facts. No laboratory findings have been tabled, that is why we cannot comment on anything politicians are saying. It is not how we work,” he said. “We are employing friendly approaches because we do not want to scare away investors.”

Obade said the government will not bow to political pressure to close the factory. Calls by a section of MPs to fishmongers to abandon the imported fish have met resistance.

EASF is the sole remaining fish processing plant in Kisumu following the indefinite closure of Peche Foods last month. Nearly 10 fish processing plants have been closed down across Nyanza due to a biting shortage of fish from Lake Victoria.