KEBS Enforces Staff Changes After Ruto Suspends MD Over Sugar Scandal
The changes came after President Ruto suspended Njiraini and 26 government officials...
Marvin Chege 
The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) on Thursday, May 18 announced that Esther Ngari was appointed the Managing Director (MD) hours after the suspension of Bernard Njiraini by President William Ruto.
KEBS revealed in a statement that Ngari would serve in the position in an acting capacity pending a substantive replacement.
Ngari was the KEBS' Director of Standards and Trade before her appointment. Additionally, Bernard Nguyo was named the Acting Director of Quality Assurance and Inspection.
The Bureau further announced the appointment of Zachariah Lukorito as the Acting Director of Standards Development and Trade.
Esther Ngari who has been appointed as acting KEBS Managing Director, during a past press conference. /DAILY NATION
"The Acting Chief Manager of Quality Assurance (Nairobi) will be Peter Makan and the Acting Manager of Inspection (Mombasa Port Office) will be Mutuma Muthuri. The Acting Assistant Manager (Kilindini) will be Henry Sambul.
"We wish them well as they execute their duties. KEBS remains dedicated to its mission of promoting Standardization in commerce and industry throughout Kenya," stated KEBS in part.
The changes came after President Ruto suspended Njiraini and 26 government officials who were accused of releasing condemned sugar unfit for consumption in 2018.
"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.
"Consequently, it is noted that the Cabinet Secretaries for National Treasury and Economic Planning, and Investments, Trade and Industry, have sanctioned administrative action to suspend the officers pending investigations," Felix Koskei, Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service, stated.
Investigations by the security agencies had highlighted brown sugar packed in 20,000, 50-kilogram bags which were imported into the country in June 2018 by Merako Investments Limited from Harare, Zimbabwe.
The sugar estimated to be worth Ksh163 million was processed by KEBS officials after it docked at the port of Mombasa but was condemned after being deemed non-compliant with Kenyan quality standards.
According to KEBS guidelines, goods that do not conform to local quality standards should not be permitted into the country and should be re-shipped, returned or destroyed at the expense of the importer.
After the sugar was flagged by KEBS, the commodities were taken to a warehouse in Makongeni, Thika where it was suspected that they were stored for the last four years.
In December 2022, Njiraini wrote to Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA)'s Commissioner General stating that the standards agency had received a request from Assets and Cargo Limited to convert the condemned brown sugar into ethanol through distillation, a change of stance.
His letter was copied to Trade Cabinet Secretary (CS) Moses Kuria and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei with the KRA boss receiving it five days later.
The former KEBS MD also disclosed to the Commissioner General that the standard act ideally provides that non-compliant goods be shipped back or destroyed at the owner's cost.
The underhand activities had escaped the watchful eye of KRA which took action this month after Faith Kiara on April 29, on behalf of the Commissioner Intelligence Strategic Operations Investigations and Enforcement, wrote a letter to release the condemned sugar on the condition that pending taxes be paid 30 days after the consignment's release.
After the two government agencies processed the release of the consignment, KEBS sent its inspection officer to Thika on May 4, 2023, to join the multi-agency team officers and the DCI who were to open the warehouse forcefully to confirm whether the consignment was still in place.
However, upon arrival at the godown, the team found that it was empty despite the existence of KRA seals on the locks of the warehouse, with the strong possibility that the sugar was dispersed to markets across the country with some likely to be on supermarket shelves for sale.
