This archive report was first published on 8 December 2019.
Kenya's exports to South Sudan have been threatened by a surge in counterfeit goods, sparking diplomatic tensions between Nairobi and Juba.
According to a Kenya government memo, the counterfeit goods are either smuggled into South Sudan through the Ugandan border or manufactured in Juba's black market.
The Kenyan ambassador to South Sudan, Chris Mburu, has written a strongly worded letter to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) urging the agency to take action to prevent Kenyan goods from being blacklisted in the country.
"The Embassy is in possession of products that have been withdrawn from shelves following backlash from consumers over low standards. Some of the manufacturers have gone through proper certification of their products by the Kenya Industrial Property Institute and Kebs but produce substandard (goods) for this market, in effect counterfeiting their products," Ambassador Mburu said in the letter to Kebs.
More than 20 Kenyan manufacturers have fallen victim to the counterfeit cartel, with products such as detergents, cooking oil, shampoo, engine oil, and food additives being counterfeited.
The Kenyan Embassy in Juba is now calling on Kebs to enter into a memorandum of understanding with the South Sudan Bureau of Standards to ensure that only genuine products cross into the country.
The Uganda Anti Counterfeit Bill has been stuck in parliament since 2008, leaving a legal loophole for fraudulent processors to exploit.
South Sudan is yet to enact anti-counterfeit legislation, and the East African Community has no common law against counterfeiting, making the region vulnerable to cartels.
The value of Kenyan exports to South Sudan declined by 22.6 per cent from $160.7 million (Sh16.7 billion) in 2017 to $130 million (Sh13 billion) in 2018, according to government data.
