The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has kicked off a nationwide crackdown on pirated textbooks, fake revision materials, and counterfeit goods, warning that sub-standard learning resources contain errors, omit critical information, and feature outdated content as candidates sit their national examinations.
In an official statement on Thursday, ACA Board Chairperson Nelson Ributhi Gaichuhie announced that the authority will intensify inspections across bookshops, stationery wholesalers, and school suppliers to eliminate illicit educational products from the market.
The multi-agency operation also targets fake calculators and mathematical sets that imitate registered brands. ACA warned that these defective tools fail to meet standard accuracy guidelines, directly compromising students during lessons and national exams.
“Stationery was among the highest-value categories of goods in the Authority’s most recent destruction exercise. Officers will step up inspections of bookshops, stationery wholesalers, and suppliers serving schools,” Gaichuhie said.
ACA Issues Consumer Warning Ahead of Festive Season
With consumer demand surging ahead of the upcoming festive season, ACA is extending its enforcement strategy to protect buyers from counterfeit food and personal care items. Gaichuhie urged shoppers to buy goods exclusively from licensed, reputable retail outlets.
“Check seals, labels, and packaging, and verify excise stamps and standardization marks through official channels,” he said.
The anti-counterfeit watchdog has concurrently scaled up operations against fake agricultural supplies. Last Friday, enforcement officers intercepted illegally repackaged fertilizer in Matungu, Kakamega County, impounding two loaded lorries alongside industrial packaging equipment.
Preliminary investigations reveal that perpetrators diverted government-subsidized fertilizer from official distribution channels and rebagged it into fake branded sacks to sell at inflated commercial rates. ACA condemned vendors for exploiting subsidies designed to reduce farming expenses for ordinary citizens.
With the planting season approaching, the authority declared agricultural inputs a priority focus for upcoming countrywide raids, urging farmers to purchase subsidized fertilizer solely through authorized distribution centers.
Massive Seizures of Illicit Alcohol and Cigarettes
Alongside stationery and farm inputs, ACA has intensified its joint operations targeting counterfeit alcohol and tobacco networks.
Between August 20 and September 3, 2026, a multi-agency Rapid Results Initiative across high-risk zones in Nairobi led to 36 arrests. Officers confiscated over 5,555 suspected counterfeit bottles and seized approximately 39,580 liters of illicit brew.
Dagoretti North accounted for nearly 27,330 liters of the recovered brew, while officers seized over 5,000 fake bottles in Kayole and 868 assorted beverages in Eastleigh.
On September 15, ACA officers and police seized 8,459 suspected counterfeit alcoholic products valued at Sh2.1 million in Makindu. Additional operations across Nairobi, Nyeri, and Eldoret brought the total value of goods recovered in September to approximately Sh3.74 million.
Moving forward, the authority plans to target counterfeit tobacco products, including fake cigarettes bearing forged excise stamps, alongside illegal nicotine pouches, electronic cigarettes, vapes, refill liquids, rolling papers, and filters.
ACA noted that illicit factories manufacture these items without regulatory oversight, endangering consumer safety, depriving the government of vital tax revenue, and undercutting legitimate businesses.
The ongoing crackdown involves close collaboration with the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the Ministry of Health, and IP rights holders. ACA encouraged parents and school administrations to source learning supplies directly from accredited publishers and verified distributors.
Members of the public can report suspected counterfeit activity anonymously through ACA’s official tip-off channels or regional offices.
“Counterfeiters should not expect a holiday from enforcement,” Gaichuhie said.
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