Who is liable when a product injures you or damages your property
Competition Act; Constitution of Kenya, 2010 · sources read 5 Oct 2026
A business that supplies goods it made is liable to compensate you if a defect in them causes you loss or injury, and you can claim through court. If you don't know who made it, ask the seller in writing; a seller who still hasn't identified the maker after 30 days is treated as the manufacturer.
- Deadline
- 30 days: if the seller has not identified the manufacturer 30 days after your written request, that seller is treated as the manufacturer for your case.
- Deadline
- 3 years: a claim in tort (for example negligence causing injury or loss) must be filed within 3 years of the date the cause of action arose.
- Where
- The courts (compensation claim); Competition Authority of Kenya (consumer complaints)
Steps
- If you don't know who made the product, write to the seller (or each seller you know) asking who manufactured it or who supplied it to them.
- Claim compensation for the loss or injury through a court action.
- You can also complain to the Competition Authority of Kenya by post, email, phone or in person, using its consumer complaint form.
- CAK can apply remedies such as refund, replacement or repair, and recall of unsafe goods.
Watch out
- The maker can defend itself by showing the defect did not exist when supplied, came only from complying with a mandatory standard, or could not be discovered with the science of the time.
- For goods unfit for a purpose you made known, the maker is liable, but not if the problem came from someone else's act after the goods left its control, or if you did not rely on its skill.
- The unfit-for-purpose rule does not cover goods supplied to you by auction.
Who this covers
- Any individual who suffers loss or injury because of a defect in goods.
- Every consumer: the Constitution gives the right to compensation for loss or injury from defective goods or services, from public or private suppliers.
Official sources (4)
- Competition Act (Cap. 504, No. 12 of 2010), version of 31 December 2022 new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026
- Consumer Protection cak.go.ke · read 3 Oct 2026
- Constitution of Kenya, 2010 new.kenyalaw.org · read 3 Oct 2026
- Limitation of Actions Act (Cap. 22) new.kenyalaw.org · read 5 Oct 2026