The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has seized 700 bags of underweight Kakira Sugar from V.G Keshwala and Sons Limited in Soroti district, eastern Uganda, reported local media capitalradio.co.og.
According to a statement by UNBS, the confiscation follows actions taken in response to public complaints regarding underweight sugar packed in Kakira-branded sacks.
During inspections, it was found that the packaging material of the underweight sugar had been tampered with, with holes discovered in the inner polyethylene layer.
It remains unclear whether the tampering occurred at Kakira Sugar’s warehouses in the Industrial Area, Kampala, or if it was done by agents from the distributor V.G Keshwala.
Kakira Sugar, a subsidiary of the Madhvani Group of Companies, recently asserted that its weighing scales were calibrated for quality assurance.
Since 1980, the Keshwala Group has been a prominent distributor, importer, and exporter of fast-moving consumer goods in Uganda, notably Kakira sugar.
Newton Allan, who conducted random weighing of Kakira Sugar bags, posted a video on social media revealing that customers were being shortchanged by an average of 2 kilograms per bag. He further calculated that if 2,000 bags were released daily, this would result in 4,000 kilograms of shortfall, equating to 20 million Ugandan Shillings at a rate of 5,000 Shillings per kilogram.
