Kenya Bureau of Standards Sounds Warning to Fraudsters Out to Flees the Public of their Money
Peter Makan, market surveillance manager (Photo/ Courtesy)
By Bismark Odhiambo
Email, thecoastnewspaper@gmail.com
Kenya Bureau of Standards has issued a warning to local business operators to be on high alert of fraudsters pretending to be members of the bureau.
In a media engagement in Kilifi Town on April 15, 2025, Peter Makan, market surveillance manager in the coast region, informed the public to be vigilant of those who claim to be employees of KEBS by sharing such on authority’s website for purposes of confirmation.
The manager, speaking on behalf of his regional manager pleaded with the locals to have a close ties with the bureau so as to curb fake and substandard products in the country through reporting cartels that engage in the production, distribution and sale of such products.
He shared the aspects of confirming whether a product was standardized by the bureau through businesspeople checking the KEBS logo stamped on the product or sharing the products specific number that was stored in the data base to 20023 or call a toll free number 1545.
“I am asking the public to be cautious with this cartels and report the case to KEBS for follow up, everybody should follow the law since we are there so that each person does business within and beyond the borders of this country,” he said.
Additionally, he said that every business whether small or big should have a standardisation certificate since its everybody’s dream to grow their business saying they have a subsidized payment of Sh11,000 for two years for small business.
The manager confirmed their commitment to collaborate with other security stakeholders such as the police and other government urgencies in ensuring safe products were standardised within the country.
On the other hand, Hassan Said Omar, the coast region quality assurance manager, urged the public not make payments to any official since all their payments were made via eCitizen which has enhanced integrity, trust and transparency.
He explained that sometimes some products were recalled from the market because of some production hitches that might happen during the manufacturing processes.
Such occurrences can be made easier if the producers trace their products from market, thus, assisting the bureau in recalling substandard products as can be done elsewhere globally.
Moreover, he explicates that for drugs, the bureau collaborates with other agencies in ensuring safety of the products. In Kenya, drugs are cleared and inspected by the Pharmacy and Poison Board.
“I would wish to inform the public that KEBS does certification of products, but there are products that require specialized inspection that forces government to set aside various boards to check such products’ safety.”
According to him products of such nature will not have the bureau’s logo since it will be mandated by other government’s agencies or boards.
In terms of quality, the regional manager assured Kenyans that various products have different timeline for confirming the quality and quantity during inspection processes.
He gave the example of cement which requires seven to 28 days wait for confirmation of its quality, therefore, products vary in their inspections nature to ensure safety and standard.
