How to lose a war.

You have a right to property in accordance with Article 40 of the Constitution, but that right is limited by the application of Article 24 which gives the State, and private parties, leeway to limit your right under Article 40. I think. I'm not sure. I don't know if the Kenya Bureau of Standards, Kebs, is going to win its war with the smugglers, distributors and makers of counterfeit goods. I have  great suspicion that it will lose and lose shamefully.

Kenyans do not have a great respect for public institutions, mostly because every time such institutions are given police powers, such as the ones Kebs has, those institutions use those police powers for rent-seeking. It is why with every change in Cabinet Secretary at the Industrialisation ministry, in comes a "new" boss at Kebs and a new chairman at its Standards Board. For Kebs to prevail in its war on counterfeiting and counterfeit goods, it must receive the broad support of consumers as a measure of their acceptance of its legitimacy. Kebs suffers low levels of legitimacy among consumers; consequently, only the truly aggrieved or truly committed will support it in the war on counterfeiting.

It is largely because of this that Eveready shut down its manufacturing plant in Nakuru. Of course, Eveready was competing in a market that had undergone great changes, it had failed to adapt to those changes and it was operating in a market where graft undermined many well-laid business plans But surely, a very large nail in Eveready's coffin was the failure by Kebs to keep out counterfeit batteries from the market and its studious refusal to catch and prosecute those who sold counterfeit, and low-priced, batteries in Kenya.

In tandem with every other low-hanging-fruit policymaker, Kebs is asking for stiffer fines and longer prison terms for offenders. It is the go-to strategy for those whose imagination leaves a lot to be desired. It is a strategy that has failed in all respects but is still being pursued because, well, what else do they have? Kebs could very well get its wish, but just like with the stiffening of the penalties in relation to wildlife related offences and the uptick in poaching because of strong push and pull factors, counterfeits are not about to disappear from the market. In fact, the stiffer the penalties the more likely to be a flood of counterfeits, from pharmaceuticals to watch batteries, from washing powder to powdered milk. In Kenya more laws lead to more corrupt officials which lead to spectacular scandals.

Our appreciation of Kebs and similar agencies is one of fear. They have no authority in our eyes; they have power. That power is more often abused than not. Unless we can accept the authority of Kebs and its siblings, instead of fearing it, we are unlikely to collaborate with it. Instead, we are likely to collaborate with the smugglers and counterfeiters to hoodwink the mighty, perfidious Kebs and make fools of its officers. Our education of the place of Kebs and similar agencies with police powers cannot be a one-way street either; they too must demonstrate that they are agencies with integrity when they stop being used as political footballs and when they stop being part and parcel of the smuggling-counterfeiting network. If they remain illegitimate in our eyes, Kebs and its siblings will always lose the war.