Have you ever been dissatisfied with a service you have paid for or felt exploited by the price of goods or services, but became helpless?
Well, you may soon have a policy in place which will provide avenues where you will not only launch a complaint but also seek a remedy for any dissatisfaction as a consumer of goods or services.
Consequently, the government is inviting you to give your views on a new draft policy that seeks to entrench your rights under Article 46 of the Constitution of Kenya.
The Supreme Law states that Consumers have the right to goods and services of reasonable quality and to the information necessary for them to gain full benefit from goods and services.
The provision also grants every person the right to the protection of their health, safety, and economic interests, and to compensation for loss or injury arising from defects in goods or services.
Consequently, the Kenya Consumers Protection Advisory Committee (KECOPAC) is to carry out a public participation exercise on the updated National Consumer Protection Policy.
KECOPAC is a statutory body under the State Department for Trade and established under Section 89 of the Consumer Protection Act, No. 46 of 2012.
Its mandate as per the Act is to promote, regulate, advise, formulate, coordinate, and advance the social and economic welfare of consumers in Kenya to strengthen consumer protection and promote fair trade practices.
KECOPAC is currently developing a National Consumer Protection Policy (NCPP) with the objective of safeguarding the interests and well-being of consumers.
The policy is intended to satisfy Article 26 (1) read together with Article 46 (2) of the Constitution, 2010, with the main objective of harmonising the existing legal and regulatory framework dealing with consumer protection and providing accessible and efficient redress mechanisms for consumer protection issues, as well as eliminating and discouraging unfair trade practices.
It aims to promote and advance the social and economic welfare of consumers in Kenya by ensuring a fair, accessible, efficient, sustainable, and responsible consumer market.
In compliance with Article 10 of the Constitution of Kenya on public participation, KECOPAC has organised a one-day meeting with various public and private sector stakeholders with a consumer protection mandate to share their comments, inputs, and views on the draft National Consumer Protection Policy.
The meeting, which began on Tuesday, will be held up to November 27, 2025, at different venues across the country for the draft policy that was prepared in May this year.
The sessions are being held in Mombasa (Voyager Hotel), Machakos (SEO), Nyeri (White Rhino), Kakamega (Logmma), Kisumu (Le Savanna), Nakuru (Sarova Woodlands), Eldoret (Starbucks), Isiolo (Kandmark), Garissa and Nairobi.
While Kenya's trade liberalization and regional integration through entities like the World Trade Organization, (WTO), African Union (AU), Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), East African Community (EAC), and Inter Governmental Authority on Development (IGAD) have expanded access to goods and services, they have also introduced risks such as unfair practices, substandard products, and inadequate service delivery.
In the food sector, the draft policy states that Kenya’s own policy documents recognise serious coordination and enforcement weaknesses in food safety.
The 2013 National Food Safety Policy explicitly notes that food‐safety oversight is multi‐sectoral but hampered by inadequate coordination among agencies, leading to inefficiencies, recurring food hazards and trade rejections.
