The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) on Saturday impounded 15,000 substandard inner motorcycle tubes valued at Ksh4.5 million from Rundra Traders Limited at Babadogo in Nairobi.
The seized products will be destroyed at the expense of the owners, in addition to any other legal action.
“The inner motorcycle tubes branded “RTL”, failed to meet the requirements of the Standard in Tensile Elongation, as outlined in Kenya Standard (KS) 700:1990 – Specification for Inner Tyre Tubes for Motorized Vehicles, a critical safety parameter. They are weak and brittle,” said KEBS Managing Director Lt. Col (Rtd) Bernard Njiraini.
“It is the responsibility of the manufacturer/importer to ensure continued product compliance to set standards. Processing, manufacturing, stocking and/or offering for sale of substandard goods or products that do not comply with set Standards is prohibited by the Laws of Kenya under the Standards Act Chapter 496,” he adds
Earlier this month, the regulator seized plastic pipes and construction materials worth Ksh10 million from five companies accused of dealing in substandard products or bearing illegal standardization marks.
The five companies included Kikuyu Pipes and Fitting Centre (KPFC), Yuanyang Plastic Company Ltd (YY), Doer Industrial Company Ltd (DOER), Vintz Industries (VEER) and Kansun Pipe Ltd.
Kansun were instructed to discontinue manufacturing or offering for sale the affected plastic pipes and also take the necessary corrective actions to align their production processes with the required standards.
Still in August, the regulator banned thirty hand sanitizer brands over quality concerns three months after banning eight other hand sanitizer brands over the same concerns.
On July 28, the regulator also ordered three manufacturers it accused of selling poor quality face masks to discontinue manufacturing and recall its products from the market and institute corrective actions over what the regulator described as endangering the lives of Kenyans.
KEBS listed Wandas General Supplies the manufacturer of the Wandas brand of facemasks, Arax Mills Ltd the manufacturer of Arax brand of masks and Hela Intimates EPZ Ltd as poor quality facemasks manufacturers.
The manufacturers were ordered to recall their brands from the market and were only to be allowed back when they complied with the quality threshold.
“The manufacturers are required to recall all the substandard masks from the market and institute corrective actions whose effectiveness shall be confirmed by KEBS before the suspension of the standardization mark permits is lifted. Manufacturers are also advised to strictly adhere to marking and labeling requirements as per the relevant Standard,” the regulator said in the statement.
