- Nairobi leads the latest crackdown on counterfeit and illicit goods as authorities intensify nationwide enforcement.
- Fake alcohol, tobacco products and repackaged fertiliser are among the items targeted in the operations.
- Schools and farmers are also in focus as the authority moves to protect consumers ahead of the festive season.
Nairobi has emerged as one of Kenya’s busiest centres for fake and illicit goods, according to the Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA). The agency is now widening its crackdown nationwide before the festive season.
ACA chairperson Nelson Ributhi disclosed the findings on Thursday. He said a joint operation in high risk parts of the capital, run between August 20 and September 3, 2026, led to 36 arrests. Officers also confiscated more than 5,555 suspected counterfeit bottles and recovered about 39,580 litres of illicit brew.
Dagoretti North recorded the heaviest haul, with roughly 27,330 litres of illegal alcohol taken off the market. In Kayole, officers seized over 5,000 bottles, while Eastleigh yielded 868 assorted alcoholic drinks.
Beyond the capital, the pattern repeated. Officers in Makindu, Makueni County, impounded 8,459 suspected fake alcoholic products worth about Ksh2.1 million. Meanwhile, separate raids in Nairobi, Nyeri and Eldoret netted goods valued at Ksh3.74 million in September alone.
Alcohol is not the only target. Ributhi said the authority is also pursuing counterfeit tobacco and nicotine items, including cigarettes dressed up as registered brands, forged excise stamps, electronic cigarettes, vapes and refill liquids. He cautioned that demand for alcohol, tobacco, foodstuffs and personal care products typically climbs at year end, giving fraudsters a ready market.
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Consequently, enforcement will stretch well beyond the bar counter. Ributhi said the ACA would focus on fake and illicit alcohol, tobacco, foodstuffs, school stationery, learning materials and farm inputs.
On the farm input front, investigators found illegally repackaged fertiliser in Matungu, Kakamega County. Two lorries loaded with the product were seized, along with industrial packing equipment. Preliminary findings suggest the fertiliser was siphoned from the government subsidy programme, then poured into fake branded bags and sold at full commercial prices.
Meanwhile, licensed distillers have sounded their own alarm. They say some traders collect empty branded bottles, refill them with illicit brews and sell them to unsuspecting drinkers.
The manufacturers aired their concerns at a meeting with the Isinya Sub-County Bar Owners Association in Kitengela. They sought to distance themselves from illicit liquor after reports that three people had died from suspected killer brew. The wider Kajiado metropolitan area, covering Ngong, Ong’ata Rongai, Kiserian and Kitengela, has become a hotspot for illegal alcohol.
As a result, the manufacturers urged security agencies to tighten controls on bottle recycling. They also promised to train bar owners and bartenders to spot counterfeit alcohol.
By our reporter
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