On Wednesday, May 17, President William Ruto suspended the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) boss Bernard Njiraini and 26 other senior officials from different government agencies for conspiracy to sell condemned sugar.
While the move was applauded by Kenyans, the Consumer Federation of Kenya (COFEK) is wary that some of the sugar which was declared unfit for human consumption may have found its way to the market.
COFEK Secretary General Stephen Mutoro gave five life-saving instructions to Kenyans who were suspicious that they might have consumed the condemned sugar.
“Fellow Kenyan, if you bought and or used any suspicious sugar, you and your loved ones must visit the doctor for possible detoxification of heavy metals, especially mercury,” Mutoro advised.
Apart from visiting the doctor, COFEK warned Kenyans of consuming such sugar and directed that any remaining amounts be destroyed immediately.
“Consumers of the sugar should regularly go for cancer screening,” Mutoro advised Kenyans due to the presence of heavy metals in the commodity.
For those who are fearful of the negative effects of the condemned sugar, Mutoro advised that they should also go for counselling on top of the screening and detoxification.
Further, COFEK announced that they would be initiating a class action legal suit and asked Kenyans to consider contributing.
While suspending government officials linked in the scandal, President William Ruto had noted that there had been a deliberate aim to harm the public.
"In recognition of the unique mandate of the agencies as vanguards of public health and safety, it is manifest that some officers in the relevant agencies abdicated their responsibilities, at the risk of public harm,” a statement from Ruto’s Chief of Staff Felix Koskei read in part.
The 1000 tonnes of sugar consignment had been imported into the country in the year 2018 and condemned by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) for want of expiry date specification.
The sugar scandal came at a time when the country is grappling with sugar shortage and high prices of the commodity.
A 2-kilogram packet of sugar that was sold at Ksh310 by the start of May 2023 before shooting to Ksh420 by mid-May 2023.
