{
  "id": 18298276,
  "title": "Kenya: Illicit Cigarette Trade Costs Kenya Sh47bn in Lost Tax Revenue, Study Finds",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/05/kenya-illicit-cigarette-trade-costs-kenya-sh47bn-in-lost-tax-revenue",
  "topic": "finance",
  "section": "Finance & Markets",
  "published": "2026-11-05T11:46:20.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "AllAfrica Health",
    "slug": "allafrica-health",
    "url": "https://allafrica.com/stories/202611050317.html"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": null,
  "summary": "A recent Kantar study commissioned by BAT Kenya has revealed that illicit cigarette trade in Kenya accounts for 45.1% of total cigarette consumption and costs the government an estimated Sh47 billion in lost excise duty and VAT between 2021 and 2025. This illicit trade could have funded key government programs, including the construction of 48,000 affordable houses or the purchase of 19 million bags of subsidised fertiliser. BAT Kenya Managing Director Sidney Wafula has called for sustained government action to tackle the illicit trade, including stronger border controls, faster investigations and prosecutions, and a more robust track-and-trace system.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}