By Dorothy Musyoka
In a major operation aimed at protecting consumers and ensuring construction safety, authorities have uncovered a large-scale scheme involving the adulteration and repackaging of major cement brands.
This crackdown has so far resulted in the arrest of 13 suspects, the detention of 8 lorries, and the seizure of 1,774 bags of substandard cement during an extensive verification exercise conducted at the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) offices in Nairobi.
Read more:http://Crackdown on Illegal Cement Cartels Uncovers Widespread Fraud in Construction Industry
According to the detectives, the findings reveal shocking practices by unscrupulous individuals within the supply chain:
Tampered Weights: None of the bags seized weighed the standard 50kg as declared. Bags weighed as low as 17.05kg, with others containing inconsistent weights ranging from 30kg to 58.3kg.
Non-Cementing Material: Many of the bags were found to contain pozzolanic dust instead of quality cement.
Counterfeit Packaging: Some bags bore fake branding, lacked batch numbers, and had misleading manufacturing dates, with some boldly stamped as “2025.”
“The repackaged cement has not only been found to be way less the declared weight of 50kg, but also contained non-cementing material such as pozzolanic dust which greatly reduces the quality of cement,” stated the DCI.
Prominent brands such as Bamburi Cement, Simba Cement, Blue Triangle Cement, and Mombasa Cement were identified among the counterfeit products.
“Instances include several seized counterfeit bags of Mombasa Cement, which lacked batch numbers, were dated 2025, didn’t have the correct corporate colours of the company and weighed as low as 38kg per bag. Luckily, the materials used to syphon the cement were also confiscated and kept as exhibits,” noted the detectives.
Additionally, genuine manufacturers suffer immense losses from such fraudulent activities.
“The results of their felonious activities are huge losses to the genuine manufacturers, poor quality construction works and the numerous lives lost when buildings collapse,” added the DCI.
Authorities have confiscated the equipment used in the repackaging operations and are conducting further investigations to dismantle the cartel.However the DCI have urged consumers to exercise vigilance when purchasing cement in order to get value of their money.