The drama surrounding Naivas supermarket is threatening to get messier after the Nairobi City County Assembly Health Committee issued a scathing response to the giant retailer over bribery allegations levelled against the retailer.
In a strongly worded statement on the evening of Wednesday, May 14, the committee reprimanded Naivas over the supermarket's earlier statement, where they denied wrongdoing after a recent inspection of its Moi Avenue branch.
Naivas, which came under sharp criticism earlier in the day, denied stocking any expired products, amid allegations from the committee that many of the food handlers at the supermarket had not been subjected to mandatory medical checks as required by public health regulations.
But the City County Assembly Health Committee doubled down on their initial claims, insisting that the inspection of the Moi Avenue branch was within their mandate as per provisions in Article 185 of the Constitution of Kenya (2010) and Section 9 of the County Governments Act (2012).
"Naivas Supermarket's statement is noted, but we must remind you of the duties of Members of the County Assembly (MCAs) under the Constitution of Kenya (2010), Article 185, and the County Governments Act (2012), Section 9, which mandate MCAs to oversee and ensure compliance with health and safety standards, including food safety, for the welfare of county residents," the committee's statement read.
While citing findings from the inspection, the committee insisted the retail outlet was in violation of both the Food, Drugs and Chemical Substances Act (Cap 254) and the Public Health Act (Cap 242).
The committee also responded to bribery allegations, describing them as baseless and a tactic to distract from legitimate oversight.
While challenging Naivas to report the bribery claims to the anti-graft commission (EACC), the committee threatened to sue for defamation.
"Failure to comply will compel the Nairobi City County Assembly to seek legal redress for defamation and obstruction of oversight duties," the statement from the committee added.
The committee's rebuttal summed up what is an interesting tussle between the county government and arguably the biggest supermarket in the country.
Despite initial orders for Naivas branches in Nairobi to close down, Kenyans.co.ke established that for a better part of Wednesday afternoon, most stores operated without a hitch.
Naivas also insisted in their statement that because they remained compliant, none of their stores would shut down.
Hours before Naivas' statement, Nairobi County Assembly Health Committee Chairperson Maurice Ochieng attempted to back his committee's claims against the supermarket by demonstrating to members of the press present using a can of yoghurt, which he suggested was expired and purchased from Naivas.
