US Report Reveals Fake Goods Sold to Kenyans

Kenya has been listed among the leading markets for counterfeit goods around the world by the US government.

In its 2025 Special 301 Report on Intellectual Property and Enforcement, the US listed Kenya alongside Brazil, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Paraguay, and Russia.

The most counterfeit goods were electronics, chemicals, medicines, vehicle and aircraft parts.

Other fake goods flooding markets like Kenya include personal care products, food and beverages, household consumer products, shoes, toys, and sporting wear.

According to the report, most of the counterfeit goods originate from China, Turkey and India.

"The problem of trademark counterfeiting continues on a global scale and involves the production, transhipment, and sale of a vast array of fake goods," read the report in part.

"As more brands have shifted production from China to Southeast Asia countries, such as Vietnam has become more prominent as a manufacturer of counterfeit products."

The US further blamed the existence of fake goods in Kenya on the ineffective or inadequate Intellectual Property (IP) enforcement systems.

"The manufacture and distribution of pharmaceutical products and active pharmaceutical ingredients bearing counterfeit trademarks is a growing problem that has important consequences for consumer health and safety and is exacerbated by the rapid growth of illegitimate online sales," the US added in the report.

"Counterfeiting contributes to the proliferation of substandard, unsafe medicines that do not conform to established quality standards. The United States is particularly concerned with the proliferation of counterfeit pharmaceuticals that are manufactured, sold, and distributed by numerous trading partners."