Anti-Counterfeit Authority rolls out digital mark to fight fake goods in market crackdown

A new digital tracking system is set to change how Kenyans identify genuine products in the market, as the Anti-Counterfeit Authority moves to seal loopholes that have allowed fake goods to circulate across key sectors of the economy.

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has announced a major shift in its enforcement strategy, introducing a digitally verifiable certification mark that will be attached to selected goods before they reach consumers in Kenya.

ACA Board Chairman Nelson Gaichuhie said the initiative will give effect to Section 34B of the Anti-Counterfeit Act, No. 13 of 2008, which requires recording of intellectual property rights for imported goods and the issuance of a certification mark to confirm authenticity.

Under the plan, the Authority will roll out the Anti-Counterfeit Security Device, a digital mark that will be fixed on designated products and can be verified in real time using mobile phones or scanning equipment.

"Each device carries a unique identifier. A consumer verifies it with a smartphone. An enforcement officer scans it at the border, in the warehouse, on the shelf. The database is held by the Authority. Every scan generates intelligence. Every genuine product becomes self-declaring," he said.

The rollout will begin in a pilot phase targeting goods considered most sensitive to public health and safety risks.

These include alcoholic beverages, pharmaceuticals, agro-inputs, cosmetics and skin-care products, bottled water and edible oils, food products, electrical and electronic components and automotive safety parts.

"Where the counterfeit kills, the genuine must be visible. Where the counterfeit hides, the genuine must shine. That is the philosophy of this device," Chairman Gaichuhie said.

"Every bottle of alcohol on a Kenyan shelf will carry our mark. Every tablet, every cream, every bag of fertiliser. If it touches life, it must carry the mark."

He noted that the security mark will be applied either at manufacturing sites or at the point of first importation, under joint supervision by the Authority and relevant regulators.

To streamline enforcement and avoid duplication, the system will be integrated with the Kenya Revenue Authority’s Excisable Goods Management System and Kenya Bureau of Standards certification marks.

The Authority also plans to introduce a mobile application that will allow consumers to verify products instantly from anywhere in the country.

It has called on the Ministry of Trade and Investments to support the rollout through policy backing, funding, and coordination across government agencies.

ACA Chief Executive Officer Robi Kinga said enforcement efforts have already yielded results, with counterfeit goods worth more than Sh500 million seized in the first three quarters of the 2025/26 financial year.

He said the seized items include imported goods, smartphones, and stock recovered from warehouses across the country.

"Sugar and alcohol topped our 2025 national seizure list. Counterfeit fertilisers and agrochemicals worth more than Sh47 million seized between 2020 and 2025," said CEO Kinga.

"Only this month — working with the National Police Service in Trans Nzoia — we dismantled a counterfeit alcohol network, recovering over four hundred litres of industrial ethanol. Each of those numbers is a Kenyan reason to act. Each of them is a name we do not yet know."