The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has confiscated 700 bags of underweight Kakira Sugar from V.G Keshwala and Sons Limited in Soroti district, eastern Uganda.
In a statement, UNBS reports that the seizure is a result of follow-up actions taken in response to public complaints about underweight sugar packed in Kakira-branded sacks.
During inspections, it has been discovered that the packaging material of the underweight sugar has been tampered with, as the inner polyethylene layer has been found to have holes.
It is unclear whether the tampering occurred at Kakira Sugar’s warehouses in the Industrial Area, Kampala, or if it is the work of agents from the distributor V.G Keshwala.
Kakira Sugar, a subsidiary of the Madhvani Group of Companies, recently claimed its weighing scales had been calibrated for quality purposes. However, this incident raises concerns about possible collusion between Kakira Sugar Works and the Keshwala Group to defraud customers.
Since 1980, the Keshwala Group has been one of Uganda’s leading distributors, importers, and exporters of fast-moving consumer goods, particularly Kakira sugar.
Reports that Kakira sugar bags are consistently underweight could undermine consumer confidence in the company’s products.
Newton Allan, who has randomly weighed Kakira Sugar bags, has shared a video on social media, stating that customers were being shortchanged by an average of 2 kilograms per bag.
He explains that if a company releases 2,000 bags to the market every day, that amounts to 4,000 kilograms being shortchanged, which translates to 20 million Ugandan Shillings at a rate of 5,000 Shillings per kilogram.
