Crack whip on ethanol traders, Uhuru told

Fake KRA Stamps found at a Godown in Embakasi, Nairobi on October 18,2016. PHOTO | EVANS HABIL | NATION MEDIA GROUP

An anti-counterfeit lobby has petitioned President Uhuru Kenyatta to order a crackdown on cartels of unscrupulous traders smuggling ethanol into the country from Tanzania.

Through a petition handed to the Office of the President at Harambee House, Nairobi on Tuesday, Futa Magendo Action Network, told President Kenyatta that the ethanol used in illicit brew was being smuggled into the country through Namanga and Isebania borders.

The Nyeri-based group said the cartels had been importing untaxed raw spirit from Tanzania, denying the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) billions of shillings in tax from the sale of counterfeit drinks.

“The cartels use fake KRA stamps to evade tax. Since the spirit is being smuggled into the country without paying excise duty and VAT, it is cheaper than products purchased through proper channels,” reads the petition.

The petition, that was also copied to Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i, Inspector-General of Police Joseph Boinnet, Director of Criminal Investigations George Kinoti, and KRA Commissioner-General John Njiraini, says the illicit ethanol has impacted negatively on alcohol industry.

According to the group’s executive coordinator James Mugo, Kenya has been a target of fake manufacturers who have been making a kill at the expense of genuine traders.

The lobby wants county governments, through the Council of Governors, to ensure compliance of all traders of alcoholic beverages in the regions.