For the past few days there have been reports of cartels flooding the country’s market with counterfeit products,now the Director of Public Prosecution(DPP) Noordin Haji has blamed Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) officials over the increase in substandard goods in the market.
Adding that Kebs blunder has subsequently caused the country a loss of money to the tune of Ksh100 million every year in counterfeit products.
He accused the officials of colluding with an Indian firm, Madras Security Printers Private Ltd, to supply fake mark-of-quality stickers valued at Kshs882 million.
DPP further claimed that Kebs officials did not follow due process while awarding the tender stating that it was marred with irregularities and illegalities.
“Investigations have established that the award of the contract to Madras Security Printers Private Ltd was marred with irregularities and illegalities,” DCI court affidavit revealed.
Specifically, DPP claimed that the stickers supplied did not contain a traceability system and were made using ordinary adhesive papers.
This, the court papers explained, made it easier for fraudsters to duplicate hence the increase in substandard products in the country.