Traders selling fake goods face 10-year jail term, Sh20m fine

Rogue manufacturers and traders in the country face up to a decade behind bars and fines exceeding Sh20 million for dealing in substandard goods. This is according to a tough new government Bill that threatens to wipe out margins for counterfeiters.

The draft Standards Bill, 2025, which aims to repeal and replace the existing Cap 496 law, ramps up the enforcement powers of the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) and introduces a stringent new penalty regime to safeguard consumers and protect legitimate trade.

 “The Bill seeks to provide an overarching framework to promote standardisation, metrology and conformity assessment in industry and trade, provide for the safety and quality of products and services, and facilitate fair trade practices in Kenya,” said the Trade Ministry of the Bill. 

 The proposed crackdown comes as Kenya has, over the years, seen the rise of an illegal trade worth hundreds of billions of shillings in counterfeits and substandard goods.

They range from electronics and building materials to food and pharmaceuticals. This is as rogue traders capitalise on unsuspecting consumers.

Fire risks

 The most severe penalties target the manufacture, trade, or import of goods that fail to meet Kenyan standards. Under Clause 77 of the Bill, offenders could be fined up to Sh10 million or face imprisonment for a decade, or both.

“Any person who manufactures, trades, distributes, sells... or imports a product that does not comply... shall be guilty of an offence and liable to a fine not exceeding Sh10 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten (10) years or both,” the Bill states.

This would apply to a wide range of products, such as fake mobile phone chargers that pose fire risks, substandard steel rods used in construction that compromise building safety, or counterfeit fertiliser that devastates farmers’ crops.

The legislation casts a wide net, holding all players in the supply chain accountable. Importers and distributors share liability.

The Bill also introduces new regulated categories, requiring cargo consolidators—firms that bundle shipments—to register with Kebs, with unregistered operation carrying a penalty of up to Sh1 million or a year in jail.

The proposed law also targets a widespread and costly practice in Kenyan markets, where unsuspecting consumers are routinely short-changed by purchasing essential goods that are underweight. From bags of cement that fall several kilogrammes short to packets of milk, loaves of bread, and cuts of meat that do not meet their stated weight, the deception cuts across the economy. 

Unscrupulous traders and manufacturers deliberately tamper with their scales or pre-pack goods with intentional inaccuracies, a widespread fraudulent tactic used to inflate their profit margins. 

Under the new Bill, this specific vice is squarely targeted, with offenders who use uncalibrated or tampered equipment facing a fine of up to Sh1 million or imprisonment for a term not exceeding one year, or both, according to Section 46. 

Furthermore, the act of selling underweight goods falls under the bill’s most severe category of offences. As stated in Section 77, any person who “manufactures, trades, distributes, sells, exhibits, supplies or imports a product that does not comply with the requirements of Kenya Standard shall be guilty of an offence,” punishable by a fine of up to Sh10 million or ten years in prison. Beyond product quality, the Bill criminalises actions that undermine the integrity of the standards system.

Knowingly obstructing a Kebs inspector, illegally using official certification marks, or impersonating a bureau officer could result in a Sh5 million fine and a five-year jail term.

New administrative powers

Clause 83 specifically targets those who flout rules on goods under inspection, stating that anyone who disposes of products under conditional release “shall be guilty of an offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding ten years (10) or to a fine not exceeding Sh20 million.” The Bill also grants Kebs powerful new administrative powers. 

The bureau can impose direct fines of up to Sh5 million on manufacturers and service providers for licensing violations, with repeat offenders facing double that amount.

For the first time, the draft law also formally establishes a Standards Tribunal to hear appeals against Kebs decisions, providing a dedicated legal pathway for businesses to challenge penalties.

The proposed law is now subject to parliamentary debate. While consumer advocacy groups are expected to welcome the tougher stance, business lobbies are likely to scrutinise the potential for increased operational costs and the broad discretionary powers granted to the standards bureau.