CAK raids 6 foam mattress firms over alleged anti-competitive conduct

The Competition Authority of Kenya (CAK) has conducted simultaneous raids on premises of six major foam mattress manufacturers and distributors across Nairobi, Machakos, Kiambu and Kisumu counties as part of investigations into suspected anti-competitive practices.

The operations saw the Authority retrieve critical electronic and physical evidence for forensic analysis, including hard disks, thumb drives, laptops, mobile phones, management reports and sales records.

“Foam mattresses are an essential household commodity, used by millions of Kenyan consumers. Our intervention seeks to establish whether collusive practices are undermining the affordability and accessibility of these products for ordinary households,” said CAK Director-General David Kemei.

CAK cited Sections 31 and 32 of the Competition Act, which empower the Authority to enter premises and inspect documents and records to establish the existence of restrictive trade practices such as abuse of dominance, collusive tendering, price fixing, and market or customer allocation.

The Authority noted that the rights of the businesses involved, including access to legal representation, were upheld during the raids, with efforts made to minimise disruption to operations.

While the Competition Act does not set a statutory timeline for concluding such investigations, CAK said the process could take several months depending on factors such as the number of parties involved, their level of cooperation, and the complexity of the evidence under review.

“Based on our experience handling complex cases, this investigation is reasonably expected to take several months to complete. However, our proactive measures, such as upskilling our case officers, installation of an in-house modern forensic laboratory, and thorough planning ahead of the searches will improve the case completion time,” added Kemei.

The Authority stated that upon reviewing the evidence collected, it will determine the next course of action in line with its guidelines and procedures, while ensuring parties are accorded fair administrative action, including the opportunity to make oral and written submissions.

If found culpable, firms may face penalties of up to 10 per cent of their gross annual turnover, alongside orders to cease and remedy any illegal conduct.

CAK has also urged members of the public with information on suspected anti-competitive practices in any market to report to the Authority.