Fred Matiang'i, Adan Mohamed close ranks over bad sugar

Police officers at the Kanini Haraka Wholesalers in Meru town where Kenya Revenue Authority impounded 3,000 bags of sugar from Brazil. Interior CS Fred Matiang'i and his Trade counterpart have closed ranks on contaminated sugar after differing publicly. PHOTO | FILE | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • In the statement sent to newsrooms on Friday evening, the two ministers chose to use the word “contaminated" to describe seized sugar.
  • Mr Mohamed, the trade minister, had disputed the seized contraband was contaminated with mercury and copper as claimed by Mr Matiang'i.
  • The Government Chemist, however, ruled out mercury contamination but said seized haul laced with copper.

Two cabinet secretaries who have openly differed on the toxicity of sugar impounded in different parts of the country have presented a unified stance in a press statement, saying they are both committed to the fight against contraband.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and his Trade counterpart Adan Mohamed, issued a joint press statement on Friday that lacked the sting with which the two had addressed the toxicity matter.

In the statement, which they also shared on their Twitter accounts, the two ministers chose to use the word “contaminated” rather than poisonous to describe the impounded sugar.

“During the crackdown, the multi-agency team has confiscated some sugar that was found to have been contaminated as a result of poor handling and storage,” they stated.

“Any goods that have been confiscated as part of the ongoing crackdown that do not meet Kenyan standards will be destroyed in line with the legal requirements.”

CHEMICAL TESTS

This was a departure from the tone on Wednesday when Mr Mohamed questioned results of chemical tests on samples of counterfeit sugar. This was a challenge against Mr Matiang’i’s announcement a week earlier.

“To the best of our knowledge, there is no indication of anything like mercury that has been found in any of those sugars,” he said. “Additional tests have been done and no traces have been found.”

But a week earlier, while speaking after a consignment of sugar had been impounded in Busia, Mr Matiang’i had said traces of poisonous mercury had been found.

He added that whoever was behind it was “engaged in murder on a mass scale.” Siding with him was Mr George Kinoti, the director of criminal investigations, who said the revelations on mercury in sugar were made based on test results.

In the brief joint statement, the cabinet secretaries said they were reaffirming their commitment on the government’s fight.

“The fight … will continue as a means of protecting local manufacturers from losing revenues to goods entering the country without due process. We request and appeal to all citizens to report any suspicions of counterfeited goods to the key agencies responsible,” they stated.

“We further re-assure the public and all Kenyan consumers that government agencies responsible for ensuring safety and standards of goods entering the country will continue to be vigilant to ensure that all products in our country are fit for human consumption,” added the ministers.