The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) has announced a new management team after President William Ruto suspended 27 officials in connection with illegal sugar.
Esther Ngari is the new Managing Director in the acting capacity, while the Director of Quality Assurance and Inspection is Bernard Nguyo.
Ngari will replace suspended Kebs Managing Director Benard Njiraini.
Other new appointments are; Zachariah Lukorito for Director Standards Development and Trade, Peter Makan as Acting Chief Manager Quality Assurance (Nairobi), Mutuma Muthuri as Acting Manager Inspection (Mombasa Port Office) and Henry Sambul as Acting Assistant Manager (Kilindini).
The officers will all serve in an acting capacity.
They replace suspended officials who include Dr Geoffrey Muriira, Director Quality Assurance and Inspection, Hilda Keror, Manager Inspection, Mombasa Port Office, Liston Lagat, Assistant Manager, ICDN Nairobi, Rono Birgen Chief Manager, ICDN Nairobi, Stephen Owuor, Principal Officer and Peter Olima Joseph - Inspector, Mombasa.
The officers are linked to a contraband sugar that illegally found its way into the market.
The sugar in question was imported to the country in 2018 but was flagged by KEBS for want of expiry date specification.
Kebs marked the 20,000-50 kgs bags of sugar as unfit for human consumption.
It then directed that it be destroyed at the owner's cost by either burning or burying.
But it was later decided that the consignment be conversed for industrial ethanol use, which was to be implemented under the joint supervision of KEBS and the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), within a multi-agency framework.
The process was however allegedly corrupted and the sugar found its way into the market.
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