Rai Family Fights Back as Duale Calls for Investigations Into West Kenya

After Majority leader Aden Duale on Tuesday demanded investigations into West Kenya which is owned by the Rai family over the ongoing contaminated sugar scandal, the company has come out fighting as it seeks to save face after damaging reports surfaced in sections of the press.

Mr Tejreev Rai, who runs West Kenya which is part of Rai Group Ltd chaired by his tycoon father Jaswant Rai, while admitting that the company imported huge quantities of sugar reiterated that theirs was entirely safe for human consumption.

West Kenya took out a full page advertisement in local dailies on Wednesday as they sought to calm fears on the safety of their popular sugar brands.

"One company imported 185,000 metric tones. That company used four different companies. West Kenya Sugar Company imported 34,600 metric tonnes. The same importer used Sukari industries and imported 34,000 metric tonnes duty free.

"The same company used a company called Menengai refineries and imported 40,000 metric tonnes and another called Amnei was used to import 74,000 metric tonnes," Duale had stated on the floor of the house.

[caption caption="West Kenya Sugar Company Chairman Jaswant S. Rai (right) and Managing Director Tejveer Rai (left)"][/caption]

Records indicate that Tejveer imported 34 million kilogrammes of sugar in 2017 worth billions of shillings.

In total, Raiply-associated businesses imported 187 million kilogrammes of sugar last year as they took advantage of a duty-free window opened by the State.

Tejveer has overseen an aggressive expansion of the company's operations since he took over, opening factories in Busia and Bungoma and running Sukari Industries in South Nyanza.

A section of politicians have, however, defended West Kenya claiming that sugar barons were using it as a cover to deflect attention from their alleged offences.

Among them are former Kakamega Senator Bonny Khalwale who is organizing a protest in support of West Kenya.

[caption caption="Aden Duale"][/caption]

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