Kenya tells IGAD states: mutual recognition, not a second lab at the border
Key points
- At a 17 August 2026 Nairobi technical workshop, Kenya asked IGAD states to harmonise cross-border certification and speed Mutual Recognition Agreements under AfCFTA.
- Kennedy Anahinga, Director of Policy at the State Department of Agriculture, said duplicate inspection and testing at borders is a jobs and food issue, not only a lab issue.
- Kenya was the first country to ratify AfCFTA in 2019 and is seeking continental accreditation so KEBS marks travel without a second test.
- IGAD’s Dr Mohy Tahomi said success is shorter clearance, not another communiqué; AfCFTA’s Deneswaree Mohun tied SPS systems to digital certificates.
Nairobi on 17 August 2026 was a room of standards officials, not a signing table. Kenya used it to tell IGAD neighbours that a second laboratory at the border is the tax farmers already pay, KBC reported.
Kennedy Anahinga, Director of Policy at the State Department of Agriculture, said Mutual Recognition Agreements under the African Continental Free Trade Area should knock out non-tariff barriers. “Advancing MRAs is therefore not a technical exercise for regulators alone; it is a trade facilitation agenda that speaks directly to jobs, incomes, and food systems resilience across our region.” He noted Kenya led the continent by ratifying AfCFTA in 2019 and is chasing continental accreditation for its conformity bodies. “Once approved, KEBS certification for Kenyan exports would be recognised across the continent — precisely the kind of mutual recognition this workshop is here to advance.” IGAD’s Director for Economic Cooperation and Regional Integration, Mohy Tahomi, said paper is not enough: “The real success of the MRA will be measured by what happens at our borders, in our laboratories, in our certification bodies, and ultimately in the hands of our traders and producers.” He wanted digital links and shared expertise, not only trucks. Deneswaree Mohun, who heads non-tariff measures and barriers elimination at the AfCFTA Secretariat, said sanitary and phytosanitary systems plus digital certificates protect consumers and cut technical queues, and that the secretariat would help states build both. A workshop quote is not an MRA in force. KEBS still has to win the accreditation Anahinga described, and IGAD states still have to stop re-testing the same crate.
A 2019 ratification is not a 2026 green lane
If KEBS is to be accepted “across the continent,” publish which labs are in the accreditation queue and which IGAD posts still pull every consignment.
Kenya news: Kenya News. Verified 17 August workshop, 2019 ratification, Anahinga/Tahomi/Mohun remarks from KBC.
KEBS should name the continental-accreditation file number. Trade CS should list the MRAs actually signed, not only those discussed.
Exporters should keep the current certificate set until a partner state publishes recognition; do not assume the workshop changed the border this week.
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Based on KBC reporting of the 17 August IGAD workshop. Mutual recognition had not been signed in that account.
