Last week, after a sanitized entry into a Taxi, the Uber driver remarked, “The government could be putting all the efforts to ensure compliance to use of sanitizers, but the worst enemy are Kenyan traders who deal with counterfeits. This can only accelerate the corona spread.

There is unspoken fear among populations on the possible outcomes of using counterfeit products in the wake of COVID 19. The fear has sunk to Kenyans on how counterfeit products can jeopardize their health and safety. Under ordinary circumstances, trade in counterfeits looks like harmless and victimless to the society. On several occasions, the Anti-counterfeit Authority Inspectors together with Kenya Police have had a rough time in downtown Nairobi dealing with riotous crowds during illicit trade operations. They had been profiled as anti-business and not promoters of trade. 

Nairobi, April 09th 2020: The Anti-Counterfeit Authority has today raided and nabbed 291 pieces counterfeit face masks worth Kshs 500,000 in Namanga town, Kajiado County.

The agency is in the process of identifying and investigating the deals for further arrests and prosecution.

Nairobi, March 20th 2020: The Anti-Counterfeit Authority has today warned Kenyans to beware of the danger of counterfeit sanitizers and detergents in the market as the country takes preventive measures to stop the spread of COVID-19. The increased demand for these products poses an opportunity for criminals to capitalize on this vulnerability by selling counterfeit detergents and sanitizers.

The Executive Director, Anti-Counterfeit Authority Mr. Elema Halake said that some unscrupulous persons may take advantage of this situation to cash in on the Coronavirus pandemic to manufacture and trade in counterfeit sanitizers and detergents. The Authority is currently following some leads on suspected counterfeit sanitizers and detergents.

Mr. Halake encouraged Kenyans to be alert when buying these commodities. “We encourage Kenyans to beware and report any suspected cases to the Authority or any other law enforcement agency”.

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority is pleased to announce the launch of the National Strategy to combat Illicit Trade in an event hosted by State Department of Trade in collaboration with other stakeholders on 20th June 2019 at Crowne Plaza, Nairobi. 

The event was graced by the Permanent Secretary, State Department of Trade, Dr. Chris Kiptoo, and brought together representatives from all the agencies represented in the Anti-Illicit Trade Multi-Agency Team as well as the private sector led by the Kenya Association of Manufacturers (KAM) and the Kenya Private Sector Alliance (KEPSA). 

Launch comes after the rollout of the National Action Plan Against Illicit trade.

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has launched a nationwide series of engagement with the County Security Committees in a bid to fight trade in counterfeits and illicit trade across the country.

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Head of Public Service, Mr. Wanyama Musiambo said “Fighting illicit economy requires a range of solutions from partnerships, technology to changes in public policy. We are engaging county securities committees because they have grassroot representation to enforce the law and create public awareness to our consumers”. These partnerships are part of the deliverables of the National Action Plan for combating Illicit Trade in Kenya that was launched in June this year. The Action Plan lays down the levels of engagement and steps that be taken to reduce the illicit trade at the county level.

Another Success in the Fight against Counterfeiting 

Mombasa, 13th, September 2019. 

Sustaining its gains in intellectual property rights enforcement, thousands of counterfeit goods were destroyed this morning by the Anti-Counterfeit Authority in the coastal city of Mombasa Kenya. This is one of the one of its biggest condemnations of confiscated smuggled products this year in the area. 

The Chair of the Board of the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, Ms. Flora Mutahi said the condemned goods worth at least Ksh 4.9 M consisted of various items ranging from fast moving consumer goods like mobile phones, electrical goods, clothing, cosmetics and apparel and stationery, which were replicas of popular local and international brands. This is in violation of the Anti-Counterfeit Act 2008 law of Kenya. 

When: Thursday 20th June 2019 is set for commemoration of World Anti-Counterfeit Day in Kenya.

Who: To mark this day Government Agencies involved in the multi-agency approach against counterfeiting and illicit trade as well as brand owners are coming together to debate the threats from the manufacture and trade in counterfeits at the Export Processing Zones Authority grounds Athi River between 8.30 AM and 1.30 PM.

Event: During the commemorations, we will have the opportunity to launch the National Anti-Illicit Trade Action Plan 2019/22 Action Plan with the climax of the day being the destruction of counterfeit goods with an estimated value of Ksh 23.8 Million at the Enviro Safe site within EPZA grounds, Athi River.

Invited Guests

• Cabinet Secretary - Ministry of Trade Industry & Co-operatives – Hon. Peter Munya, EGH
• Principal Secretary - State Department for Trade, Ministry of Trade Industry & Co-operatives – Dr. Chris Kiptoo, CB
• Principal Secretary – State Department of Investment and Industry, Ministry of Trade Industry & Co-operatives- Ms. Betty Maina, MBS
• CEOs of various organizations and business associations in public in private sectors
• Stakeholders from both public and private sectors as well as consumer representatives

About World Anti-Counterfeit Day 2019

The World Anti Counterfeit Day (WACD) was initiated in 1998 by the Global Anti-Counterfeiting Group (GACG) with the main objective being to facilitate information exchange and sharing of best practices and to participate in appropriate joint enforcement and awareness activities to solve international IPR enforcement challenges. This year the GACG commemorated the day on 6th June 2019; while other countries all over the world follow suit within the month of June.

The Authority has partnered with Kenya Bureau of Standards in joint innovation centered workshops whose objective is to provide MSMEs with a one stop shop of information in order to give them access to knowledge on business processes, standardization and industrialization in Kenya and internationally. The theme of the workshops is: MSME Development and Trade Facilitation.

The workshops are organized with presentations from other government agencies from the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Cooperatives and other relevant regulators and business financiers. Among them are Ken-Invest, ACA, Youth Fund, The Jua Kali Federation, ICDC and EPZ among others.

The first in a series of eight workshops planned across the country started in Nairobi and headed to Garissa County last week in North-Eastern Kenya. The conference was attended by participants and speakers from SMEs and start-ups, industry, public institution, and regulatory Agencies from the region.

In her welcome addresses, M/s. Zeyana M. Abdullah the Marketing and Communication Manager at the KEBS, underlined the need to raise awareness among businesses of the value of innovation and the route to fruitful commercialization with a particular focus on increased industrialization in the country.

"We have to stay in a dialogue with all of the actors of the innovation ecosystem in order to jointly address the challenges and opportunities that are in the country to achieve the Big 4 Agenda as well as Vision 2030," Zeyana M. Abdullah said.

Several presenters from Government regulatory agencies shared their mandates and discussed ways of assistance to the start-up groups. The conference also delved deeper into legal aspects and looked at regulations and licenses needed that can affect the future commercialization of an invention.

The Cabinet Secretary for Industry, Trade & Cooperatives in exercise of the powers bestowed upon him by the provisions of Section 37 of the Anti-Counterfeit Act has proposed amendments to the Anti-Counterfeit Regulations, 2010.

The Cabinet Secretary invites all stakeholders to give their input to the draft Anti-Counterfeit {Amendment} Regulations, 2019 and the draft Anti-Counterfeit {Recordation} Regulations, 2019 in accordance with the requirements of the Statutory Instruments Act and the Constitution on public participation.

A consultative forum has been scheduled to be held at The Boma Hotel Nairobi on 16th May 2019 starting at 8:30AM.

The aforesaid draft Regulations may be downloaded from the website of the Anti-Counterfeit Authority www.aca.go.ke. Any comment, enquiry or concern can be sent via email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or SMS/WhatsApp on 0707 967 057.

Download the draft Anti-Counterfeit {Amendment} Regulations, 2019.

Download the draft Anti-Counterfeit {Recordation} Regulations, 2019

More than KSH 10 million worth of Counterfeit Samsung Phones plus accessories have been seized from a sting counterfeit mobile phone operation by Inspectors from Anti-Counterfeit Authority. The officers raided several seven mobile phone outlets in downtown Nairobi along Mfangano Street and seized 213 counterfeit mobile phones. The street is graded as a notorious hotspot for selling counterfeits in the city. The operation which was conducted in collaboration with the Anti-Illicit Trade Agency Limited, the appointed Samsung Brand Protection Agency.