27 government officials Suspended following Contaminated Sugar Saga
27 government officials attached to various State agencies have been suspended from office over the disappearance of 20,000 bags of contaminated sugar.
This includes the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) Managing Director Bernard Njiraini.
The 20,000 bags of 50kg which were stored in a warehouse Makongeni-Thika was supposed to be converted into industrial ethanol instead of being destroyed.
In a statement, the Chief of Staff and Head of Public Service Felix Koskei said the sugar had been imported into the country in 2018 and condemned by KEBS for want of date of expiry date specification.
“KEBS condemned the consignment as unfit for human consumption and directed that the consignment be reshipped and destroyed at the owner’s cost, “the statement said.
He also said the industrial conversion was to be implemented jointly by KEBS and National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) within a multi-agency framework.
“The condition precedent to the conversion were; involvement of all the concerned regulatory agencies; sourcing a distiller through an open process; and securing the payment of applicable taxes and statutory fees, “added the statement.
On May 4 2023, KEBS accompanied by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) visited the warehouse in Thika trying to trace the missing sugar which is suspected to have entered the market this comes after Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) Commissioner of Intelligence, Strategic Operations Investigations and Enforcement, Faith Kiara, released a consignment note to KEBS authorizing the release of the contaminated sugar in April 2023.
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