Residents in Mombasa County have lauded the government’s move to destroy counterfeit goods that were impounded at the port of Mombasa.
President Uhuru Kenyatta on Thursday presided over the destruction of illegal imported sugar, ethanol and rice, worth over Sh300 million in Mombasa County.
Mr Joseph Kimani, a Mombasa resident, urged the government to launch investigations to establish the individuals and companies involved in smuggling contraband products into the country.
Mr Kimani said the government should put enough measures to arrest and prosecute those involved in tax evasion and economic crimes.
“Those involved in bringing fake goods to the country should be arrested in order for this to end. The government is losing a lot of money in terms of taxation due to contraband products that find their way in the Kenyan market,” said Mr Kimani.
“The government should establish a system to check every container that enters the port of Mombasa. Some of the goods like the rice had expired but you will still find them being sold in the market,” said Ms Linet Halima, a resident from Changamwe.
President Kenyatta, who was in the company of other senior officials from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) and Ethics and Anti-Corruption Commission (EACC), called for the arrest and prosecution of the owners of the contraband products.
The destroyed consignment included 39 containers of sugar, 64 containers of ethanol and 50 containers of rice.