Opposition leaders Kalonzo Musyoka and Martha Karua have sounded an alarm over a 25,000-metric-tonne sugar shipment declared unfit for human consumption that was allegedly cleared by the government for sale to unsuspecting Kenyans.
In a press statement issued on Thursday, Wiper Party leader Kalonzo Musyoka revealed, “We are aware of a cargo of 25,000MT of sugar that recently landed in our Port of Mombasa. This sugar, already declared unfit for human consumption at its port of origin, is on its way to a sugar factory in Western Kenya to be repackaged and sold to unsuspecting Kenyans.”
The sugar consignment, according to Musyoka and Narc Kenya leader Martha Karua, poses a severe public health risk. Despite its documented status as unfit for human consumption, the Ruto administration is said to have fast-tracked its clearance. “What kind of a regime is this that puts their own reprehensible needs before that of the public’s well-being?” Kalonzo stated, calling for the immediate public condemnation and destruction of the consignment.
Wiper Leader Kalonzo Musyoka and People’s Liberation Party Leader Martha Karua Expose Toxic Sugar Plot.
The explosive claims echo a 2024 scandal in which the Departmental Committee on Trade confirmed that toxic sugar stored in a Thika warehouse had vanished and reentered the market. Agencies like the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), the National Environment Management Authority (NEMA), and the Agriculture and Food Authority (AFA) were previously implicated.
Now, all eyes are on KEBS again. Despite the gravity of the new allegations, the agency has remained silent, fuelling speculation about a deeper institutional failure. Consumer rights advocates warn that contaminated sugar may contain heavy metals, industrial residues, or banned additives that could cause organ damage, cancer, or even death.
Civil society groups and opposition leaders have jointly demanded that the consignment be destroyed in public. “Kenyans are under socio-economic and emotional assault. This is not only illegal and unconstitutional—it is criminal,” Karua warned.
Beyond the health implications, the leaders allege that this incident is symptomatic of wider systemic rot. They accused the government of using shadowy financial mechanisms dubbed Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) to siphon off public funds without oversight. “These murky vehicles bypass Parliament and accountability institutions. This is shameless theft on a scale never witnessed before,” read part of their statement.
The consignment reportedly makes its way to Western Kenya, the country braces for clarity or catastrophe. With institutions silent and the sugar scandal deepening, Kenyans are left demanding answers and protection.
