Kabras Sugar was at one time trending on social media platforms and the interwebs for all the wrong reasons. Allegations in 2018 made by the Internal Security Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiangi that Kabras Sugar contained mercury and copper left Kenyans shocked by the callousness of the sugar barons in the country. Addressing the media over the unsafe sugar in the country the CS said: “They are killing us because they are selling poison to all of us… and none of us is safe”. Ingesting mercury on our system can lead to cancer, weakening our human system and can result to nervous and digestive systems complications whereas copper is known to cause diarrhea, nausea, heart complications and low blood pressure.
Kabras Sugar
By the time the accusations made by the CS went public, millions of consumers had been exposed to Kabras sugar. The mother company, West Kenya Sugar Company, put a half hearted fight to clear its name in what has been termed as a ‘mass murder’ attempt. On their social media platform West Kenya Sugar shared this on the ongoing investigations:
We appreciate the efforts by the Kenya Police to fight counterfeit goods in our country and in particular counterfeit sugar.
This is a serious matter that threatens the very existence of the sugar industry in Kenya which would gravely affect the livelihoods of thousands of farmers.
Following today’s seizure of counterfeit sugar by the Kenya Police our attention was drawn to what seemed to resemble our branded sugar, we wish to assure all our consumers that Kenya’s Sweetest, Kabras Sugar is milled from locally grown sugarcane in the heart of Kenya’s sugar belt, Western. With supply from over 60,000 small scale farmers around Western, Nyanza and Rift Valley.
Recalling the Sugar
Legislators from Kakamega county questioned why police had not made arrests after they found the poisonous sugar at West Sugar Factory and Panpaper Mills godowns. Lugari MP Ayub Savula and his Matungu counterpart Justus Murunga asked President Uhuru Kenyatta to direct the relevant authorities to close down and revoke the license after the discovery of 30,000 cubic tones of sugar containing mercury in their warehouses. The sugar is still in supermarket shelves.
Who owns Kabras Sugar
West Sugar Factory in Malava in Kakamega county and PanPaper Mill in Bungoma county are owned by Rai Holdings Limited. The company also owns Sukari Industries in Homa Bay County making it the second largest sugar producer in Kenya. The family company has spreads its wings in Uganda-they hold a majority stake in Kinyara Sugar Works. The Rai Family-known as RaiPly- bought PanPaper- then worth sh18 billion- for a paltry sum of kes900 million in 2009.
Other than their sugar interest, RaiPly is known for being makers of chip boards, block boards, polythene bags for sugar, parquet and ceilings. Rai have also footprints in:
edible oils, fats and soaps (Menengai Oil Refineries)
wheat farming
horticulture
Timsales (saw milling)
Real Estate-Tulip Properties.
Tarlochan Singh Rai-incoporated Rai Timber into RaiPly in 1971 with his four sons-Jaswant Rai, Jaspir Rai, Tajveer Rai and Onkar Rai.
MD and Chairman of West Kenya Sugar Ltd
The managing director of West Kenya Sugar Ltd is Tajveer Rai Sugar Ltd while the chairman is Jaswat Rai.
