The Competitors Authority of Kenya (CAK) has raised alarm over people and organisations that it says are defrauding companies below the guise of conducting compliance checks within the pretence of affiliation with the Authority.
In a public discover on Friday, CAK stated it has acquired quite a few complaints from retail operators based mostly in Mombasa, Embu, Machakos, Ruiru, Nyeri and Meru, with the merchants lamenting of incidents of invasions into their enterprise premises, confiscation of merchandise, on-the-spot fines in addition to alleged arrests.
Specifically, the watchdog flagged an entity named ‘Multi-Works and Rights Enforcements’ which identifies as a shopper rights organisation, saying it isn’t among the many shopper our bodies recognised or supported by the Authority below Part 9 of the Competitors Act.
“The Authority is partaking the related safety companies in ongoing investigations into the circumstances of impersonation and different unlawful acts, together with reviewing the circumstances of the complaints acquired from varied enterprise homeowners,” wrote CAK within the discover.
CAK says that every one its workers, dispatched to conduct market surveillance, should formally determine themselves and, the place relevant, produce documentary data confirming the authenticity of their project.
“Enterprise homeowners confronted by people claiming to work for the Authority, and who fail to determine themselves or their project, confiscate items, purport to problem on-the-spot penalties, threaten arrests, or solicit bribes, ought to instantly report the matter to the closest police station,” the Authority stated.
Additional, the watchdog stated all search actions it conducts are all the time sanctioned by a search warrant issued by the Excessive Courtroom, and that they’re all the time carried out within the presence of safety officers.
“The companies focused within the search, or their authorized representatives, are afforded a possibility to examine the courtroom warrant. Our workers members don’t possess arresting powers.”
The Authority additionally stated that it by no means imposes on-the-spot penalties or fines.
