UNBS tightens grip on underweight cement fraudulent traders
According to Hajjati Sarah Nantongo, a senior surveillance officer at UNBS, investigations have so far pointed to tampering, siphoning and illegal repackaging at points of sale, rather than underweight production at certified cement factories.She was speaking on Monday during the operation at Free Shed.
UNBS Executive Director Eng. James Kasigwa recently urged consumers to remain vigilant and verify cement weights at the point of purchase.
KAMPALA - The Uganda National Bureau of Standards (UNBS) has intensified its crackdown on underweight cement on the Ugandan market, warning traders and distributors against tampering with genuine cement bags and defrauding consumers.
The enforcement comes amid growing public concern over cement bags marked 50 kilogrammes allegedly being sold with significantly less cement. The public outcry has fueled scrutiny of cement dealers and prompted calls for stronger consumer protection.
According to Hajjati Sarah Nantongo, a senior surveillance officer at UNBS, investigations have so far pointed to tampering, siphoning and illegal repackaging at points of sale, rather than underweight production at certified cement factories.
She was speaking on Monday during the operation at Free Shed.
The standards body said its recent factory inspections found that samples from Uganda's major certified cement manufacturers complied with the required quantity standards.
The manufacturers named by UNBS include Tororo Cement, National Cement Company of Uganda (Simba Cement), Hima Cement, UBIH Cement, Old Continent Group and Metro Cement.
The bureau has now ordered cement dealers to keep UNBS-verified weighing scales at their outlets so that customers can check the weight of bags before completing purchases.
The directive is aimed at closing a loophole in the cement supply chain where consumers may otherwise have little ability to establish whether a bag labelled 50kg contains the stated quantity.
UNBS Executive Director Eng. James Kasigwa recently urged consumers to remain vigilant and verify cement weights at the point of purchase.
Traders, meanwhile, have been warned that selling underweight or adulterated cement constitutes a criminal offence and may lead to arrest and prosecution.
Construction sector faces wider implications
The crackdown has implications beyond consumer fraud. Cement is a critical input in Uganda's construction industry, meaning persistent short-weight or adulterated products can increase construction costs while undermining confidence in building-materials suppliers.
UNBS reported that it seized more than 880 tonnes of substandard products worth about Sh3b during the 2025/26 financial year. The seized products included food, cosmetics and construction materials, including cement.
The agency has also appealed to construction-site supervisors and workers to destroy empty cement bags after use. According to UNBS, discarded bags can be collected and reused by fraudsters to repackage siphoned cement.
Manufacturers have similarly been encouraged to strengthen systems for recovering used packaging in order to reduce opportunities for counterfeiters and other fraudulent traders.
For consumers, UNBS recommends checking the condition of cement bags, confirming the manufacturing information and, most importantly, weighing the product where a verified scale is available.
The regulator's intervention signals a tougher approach to enforcement across Uganda's building-materials market, with traders now facing increased scrutiny over the quantity and integrity of products reaching consumers.
UNBS says the objective is not only to protect buyers from financial losses, but also to safeguard fair trade and ensure that construction materials sold in Uganda meet mandatory standards.