Bulawayo, (New Ziana)-The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA) has warned that the continent was facing serious crisis of counterfeit products, particularly fake medicines, which are directly killing 100 000 people every year.
Director for Consumer Welfare and Advocacy at the COMESA Competition Commission (CompCom), Steven Kamukama, said this while making a presentation on the regional best practices in consumer protection during the just ended inaugural 2025 Annual Consumer Conference held in the second largest city.
He said 60 percent of goods traded within Africa were counterfeits while 42 percent were genuine medicines.
“The situation in Africa is bad. About 60 percent of goods traded within Africa are counterfeit, and 42 percent of those are medicines. Fake medicine directly kills 100 000 people in Africa every year, and indirectly kills 500 000 because people take the wrong medication and their illness goes untreated.
“We have addressed several counterfeit medicines. We found falsified F-Graine, Vitamin C and High-Spectrum products. These were in the market but were not from the original producer. We worked with member states to remove them,” he said.
Kamukama said 12 of the 21 COMESA member states rank among the world’s worst-affected countries for counterfeit trade.
“Most of those are Anglophone countries. It is not that Anglophone countries are a problem, but simply because most COMESA member states are Anglophone,” he said, adding that Zimbabwe was also grappling with the same challenges.
“The fact that we are discussing this matter here shows the problem exists,” he said.
Kamukana also highlighted that counterfeits in electronics were also on the rise, saying 6 percent of such products traded in Africa were counterfeits and were contributing 2.9 million of e-waste annually.
He noted that while many people equate counterfeits with poor-quality goods, the definition is much broader.
“A counterfeit is simply an imitation of a genuine product. Not all imitations are substandard, some may even be better, but because they are imitations of a genuine product, they are illegal and infringe on intellectual property rights,” he explained.
To curb the vice, Kamukama said as a regional body they were moving towards adopting a strengthened model law to protect consumers across its 21 member states, including Zimbabwe.
“COMESA has a clear legal framework through the COMESA Competition Regulations, which include provisions on consumer protection. The law prohibits false and misleading representation, unconscionable conduct, and importantly, the supply of unsafe and ineffective products. We are here to look at regional best practices in consumer protection and the crafting of a model law for the COMESA region,” he said.
Kamukama, however, stressed that laws alone were not enough, adding that for best practice the continent should have effective institutions, enough technical experts and strong enforcement mechanisms.
“For best practice, we must have effective institutions, enough technical experts, and strong enforcement mechanisms. We must raise awareness among consumers and businesses, and work with other agencies to ensure products in the market are safe,” he said.
The CompCom is headquartered in Malawi and its mandate is to promote competition and safeguard consumer welfare across the bloc.
New Ziana
