A Shadowy Operation

A company presenting itself as a consumer rights and protection organization, Multi Works and Rights Enforcement Ltd, is at the center of a nationwide extortion scheme targeting unsuspecting retail businesses, a Streamline News investigation has found. Operating with impunity, its agents impersonate inspectors from official government bodies, seizing goods, imposing illegal on-the-spot fines, and threatening business owners with arrest, often with the complicity of local police officers.

The investigation, conducted over three months, included interviews with over two dozen business owners in Nairobi, Mombasa, Nyeri, and Machakos, analysis of official company records, and examination of multiple complaints filed with government agencies. Victims consistently described a pattern of intimidation and coercion. Agents of Multi Works and Rights Enforcement Ltd, often arriving in unmarked vehicles, would enter a shop, declare certain products substandard or counterfeit without providing evidence, and demand immediate payment to avoid closure and prosecution. These demands ranged from KSh 30,000 to KSh 150,000.

Official Government Warnings

The scale of the operation has forced official bodies to issue public warnings. On April 16, 2024, the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) issued a notice confirming it had received numerous complaints about the company's agents invading business premises, seizing goods, soliciting bribes, and making illegal arrests. KEBS clarified it has no affiliation with Multi Works and Rights Enforcement Co. Ltd and was engaging authorities to institute criminal proceedings against the firm and its "enablers."

This followed a similar alert from the Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) on March 22, 2024. The CAK stated it had received complaints from retailers across multiple counties and confirmed the company is not a recognized consumer body under the Competition Act. The authority advised business owners confronted by these individuals to report them to the nearest police station.

Allegations of Police Complicity

However, multiple victims told Streamline News that reporting to the police has been futile, and in some cases, has led to further intimidation. Several business owners, who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, alleged that uniformed police officers have accompanied the company's agents during these raids or have been present at police stations where victims were taken, appearing to legitimize the extortion. "When you see a police officer with them, you feel helpless. You pay because you fear they can shut you down or frame you for a crime," said a hardware store owner in Nairobi’s Industrial Area.

These allegations mirror broader, systemic issues of police corruption in Kenya. Reports from as early as 1998 detail extortion rings involving police detectives targeting businesses. More recent reports from the Independent Policing Oversight Authority (IPOA) and news investigations have exposed how senior police officers run elaborate extortion rackets, providing protection for criminal cartels involved in land grabbing and other illegal activities. An IPOA performance report covering July to December 2022 noted that it had become a norm for business owners to bribe police officers to avoid harassment. While there is no definitive public report linking senior commanders directly to Multi Works and Rights Enforcement Ltd, the operational pattern alleged by victims is consistent with documented methods of police-protected criminal enterprises. The Nairobi Police Commander, Adamson Bungei, has previously stated that while claims of police involvement in such deals are often generalized, the service would act on specific concerns and would not entertain any cartels.

The Modus Operandi

The investigation confirmed the company’s method involves exploiting the complex regulatory environment that small and medium-sized businesses in Kenya navigate. By impersonating officials from respected bodies like KEBS and CAK, they create a veneer of legitimacy. "They come with files and wear badges that look official. They claim your goods are fake and threaten to test everything, which would take weeks and ruin your stock," explained a supermarket manager in Ruiru who paid KSh 80,000 to the agents.

The Consumer Protection Act of 2012 is intended to shield Kenyans from such exploitation, but operators like Multi Works and Rights Enforcement Ltd prey on a lack of awareness of its provisions. Legitimate consumer bodies, such as the Consumers Federation of Kenya (COFEK), have long campaigned against counterfeit goods and fraudulent practices but are often overshadowed by aggressive, rogue entities.

A Call for Systemic Action

Despite the public warnings from KEBS and CAK, Multi Works and Rights Enforcement Ltd appears to continue its operations. Contacted for comment via a number on its website, an individual who identified himself as a legal officer, Edward Olang, dismissed the accusations as a "witch-hunt" when speaking to the Business Daily in April 2024. Further attempts by Streamline News to reach the company for this story were unsuccessful.

The persistence of this racket highlights a critical failure in enforcement and accountability. It underscores the deep-rooted challenge of police corruption, where officers tasked with protecting citizens are instead allegedly enabling criminal activity. While IPOA has secured convictions against some officers for abuse of power, the problem remains widespread. For the Kenyan business community, particularly small traders, the threat is not just financial loss but a profound erosion of trust in the institutions meant to provide security and ensure a fair marketplace. Further investigation by the Directorate of Criminal Investigations and robust action from the IPOA are urgently required to dismantle this network and hold all perpetrators, including their protectors within the police service, accountable.