High production costs and the mismanagement of factories have led to a drop in sugar production in Kenya over the past two decades, opening the door for smugglers. In 2020, sugar made up 48% of the goods smuggled into the country, according to the National Crime Research Centre. This ‘sweet secret’ occurs through Kenya’s porous international borders with Uganda (Busia, Lwakhakha and Sio Port), Tanzania (Sirare and Namanga), Ethiopia (Moyale) and Somalia (Mandera). In western Kenya, the smuggling is perpetrated by sugar cartels operating along the Kenya-Uganda border. Kenyan criminals collude with Ugandan factory workers who smuggle sugar and sell it to Kenyans along the border areas. Bags of sugar from the Kamuli and Kakira factories in Uganda are continually ferried into Kenya.

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