State to fight fakes with digital product authentication mark

Anti-Counterfeit Authority Executive Director Robi King’a and React Africa Director Rabia Turnbull after signing an MoU during the World Anti-Counterfeit Day in Nairobi, on June 17, 2026. [Jenipher Wachie, Standard]

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) will introduce a nationwide digital product authentication mark that targets medicines, alcohol, fertilisers, cosmetics and other high-risk consumer products.

The announcement was made on Wednesday during the World Anti-Counterfeiting Day celebrations in Nairobi.

At the event, ACA unveiled plans to operationalise Section 34B of the Anti-Counterfeit Act through a tamper-evident, digitally verifiable security device that will enable consumers and enforcement officers to authenticate products using smartphones. 

ACA Board Chairman Nelson Gaichuhie said the move was necessitated by the rapid evolution of counterfeit trade, which has shifted from traditional marketplaces to online platforms and transnational criminal networks. 

“Counterfeiting in Kenya has outgrown the law that created this authority,” said Gaichuhie. “The law has not kept pace with the criminal. So we will change the law.” 

The new security device will carry a unique identifier linked to a central database managed by the  State agency, allowing real-time verification of genuine products and generation of enforcement intelligence through every scan. 

“Today, Section 34B leaves the statute book. It walks onto the factory floor,” Gaichuhie said. 

The first phase of implementation will focus on products that directly affect public health and safety, including alcoholic beverages, human and veterinary medicines, fertilisers, agrochemicals, seeds, cosmetics, bottled water, edible oils, food products, electrical components and automotive safety parts. 

“If it can heal you, if it can poison you, if it can feed you, if it can move you, it must carry the mark,” he said. 

ACA said the system will be integrated with existing government platforms, including the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Excisable Goods Management System and Kenya Bureau of Standards certification systems, to avoid duplication for manufacturers and importers. 

The announcement comes amid growing concern over the economic and health impact of counterfeit and illicit products globally and within Kenya. 

Citing the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s 2025 report on global counterfeit trade, Gaichuhie noted that counterfeit goods account for an estimated 2.3 per cent of world trade, valued at approximately $467 billion (Sh60.7 trillion).

Anti-Counterfeit Authority Chief Executive Robi King’a said the study conducted last year estimated that the government alone loses close to Sh100 billion in revenue, money that the government requires to offer services to citizens.

“It has also been estimated that one in five products sold on our shelves are counterfeit products,” he said.

“Another study that was carried out by an association relating to cosmetics indicated that some of the beauty products that are being consumed by our population are laced with high levels of mercury, and these definitely affect the health of the consumers.” 

ACA Director of Enforcement Yusuf Osman emphasised that by working together through timely intelligence and a shared commitment, the public and private sectors can significantly reduce the flow of counterfeit goods into public supply chains, protecting both taxpayers and legitimate local brands.

The clean-up comes at a critical time, as public procurement accounts for nearly 60 per cent of Kenya’s annual budget, making State agencies lucrative targets for unscrupulous syndicates dealing in cheap, illicit, and dangerous goods.

ACA also warned that companies caught infiltrating the public sector with illicit goods will face immediate blacklisting, asset seizures, and heavy criminal prosecution under the Anti-Counterfeit Act.

 Treasury officials Jane Mbugua, Collins Kipkoech, and Albert Langat guided participants through the mandatory self-registration process on the official e-GP platform.

This digital system is designed to eliminate human bias, paperwork, and cartel manipulation by keeping a permanent audit trail of every single bid, inspection report, and delivery note.

The government reiterated its commitment to the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities programme, which legally reserves 30 per cent of all public procurement spend for enterprises owned by youth, women, and persons with disabilities.