A Harare woman has been arrested after investigators uncovered a large sugar repackaging operation at a house in Southlea Park, where ordinary sugar was allegedly being placed into bags carrying fake Tongaat Hulett branding.
Spiwe Mutandwa was arrested following a raid on the property on Saturday. The operation uncovered a truck carrying more than 3,600 kilogrammes of sugar packed in 2kg bags, together with a scale and equipment believed to have been used to weigh and package the product.
The Zimbabwe Anti-Corruption Commission said the bags bore counterfeit Tongaat Hulett labels. The truck, sugar consignment and packaging equipment were seized and will be used as exhibits in the case.
ZACC spokesperson Simiso Mlevu said Mutandwa was facing charges of fraud and violating the prohibition against forging registered trademarks under Section 84(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act [Chapter 26:04]. She is expected to appear at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on August 31, 2026.
“Mutandwa is facing charges of fraud and violating the prohibition on the forgery of registered trademarks, as outlined in Section 84(1)(b) of the Trade Marks Act [Chapter 26:04]. The accused is expected to appear at the Harare Magistrates’ Court on 31 August 2026,” said Mlevu.
The discovery has drawn attention to the growing circulation of repackaged and counterfeit goods in Zimbabwe’s informal retail market. Sugar is sold in homes, restaurants, bakeries, shops and roadside stalls every day, making it one of the most widely used food products in the country. When it is removed from its original supply chain and placed in packaging that imitates a recognised brand, shoppers can be left with no reliable way of knowing where it came from or how it was handled.
Mlevu warned people involved in the practice to stop repackaging consumable goods in fake-branded bags and selling them as genuine products. She also urged consumers to buy from registered retailers and to examine packaging before making a purchase.
“ZACC warns criminal-minded people against repackaging consumable products in fake-branded bags and selling them as genuine products. It also urges Zimbabweans to always buy from registered retailers and to check packaging for tampering, spelling errors, and proper seals,” said Mlevu.
Consumer Protection Commission education and awareness officer Tom Muleya said the seizure was made during a wider campaign targeting unsafe products. “As the Task Force for Counter-Counterfeit and Business Malpractices, we were able to unearth counterfeit sugar as part of the ongoing blitz to curb the spread of unsafe products,” he said.
The Mabvuku discovery showed that counterfeit sugar was not confined to one location or one type of seller. Products have been found moving through wholesale outlets, tuckshops, open markets and informal trading points, where they can be mixed with legitimate stock and sold to customers who are focused mainly on price and availability.
The Consumer Protection Commission conducted 12,105 inspections between January and July 2026. During that period, inspectors issued 1,615 prosecution notices and 925 compliance notices. The recorded violations included the sale of expired goods, failure to display prices and failure to provide receipts. The figures point to the scale of the work facing enforcement teams as they inspect thousands of shops and trading premises across the country.
The crackdown has also uncovered counterfeit goods beyond sugar. Authorities have reported fake Nivea lotion, Shield Sheen products and Eversharp pens, as well as counterfeit Mazoe orange juice and Mama’s Tomato Sauce. In one operation, officials confiscated 3,374 two-litre bottles of counterfeit Mazoe orange juice, 348 two-litre bottles of fake Mama’s Tomato Sauce and 61 cases of counterfeit 350ml tomato sauce.
Low-grade rice has also been found repackaged and sold under the name of a recognised brand. Other goods reported in informal markets included soft drinks, detergents, baby formula, flour, alcoholic beverages, Cremora and mealie meal. Some products were linked to informal cross-border supply routes involving Zambia, South Africa and Mozambique, while other goods were suspected of being repackaged locally.
The problem has affected both food and non-food products. In Harare, police previously recovered 593 boxes of counterfeit brake fluid, amounting to 16,849 units, along with 88 boxes of Prime Bond and silicon products containing 8,800 units. In Bulawayo, a shopkeeper was fined US$200 after 29 counterfeit GUD oil filters were found displayed for sale at premises in Kelvin North.
Authorities have also dealt with illegal alcohol production. During a raid in Harare’s Msasa Industrial Area, police arrested two foreign nationals and seized equipment and products linked to the manufacture and packaging of alcoholic beverages. The operation included bottles labelled as Mankouxing wine, with the products reportedly carrying an alcohol content of 53 per cent. Police said the seized goods and equipment were valued at more than US$120,000.
The spread of counterfeit and substandard products has been tied to the pressure on household budgets and the expansion of informal trading. Some sellers obtain goods from suppliers offering prices below those charged by authorised wholesalers. Shoppers, in turn, may choose cheaper products without realising that the low price can be connected to false labelling, poor storage, expired stock or deliberate repackaging.
In February 2025, officials told a parliamentary committee that a survey conducted with the Standards Association of Zimbabwe found that half of products bought from informal retail shops did not meet the required standards. The products cited included fake Vaseline, flour, rice and toothpaste. About four tonnes of confiscated goods were destroyed at Geo Pomona Waste Management in Harare, while more than 90 businesses were reportedly prosecuted during the wider crackdown. A shop in Bindura suspected of supplying illegally repackaged sugar was also closed.
Consumer Protection Commission director Kudakwashe Mudereri said: “We have seen a sudden proliferation of counterfeit and substandard products, expired goods, and underweight products flooding the market.”
For consumers, the latest seizure means that extra care is needed when buying basic groceries. Packaging should be checked for spelling mistakes, unusual colours, damaged seals, missing batch details and information that does not match the product. A price that is far below the normal market level should also prompt caution, particularly when the item is being sold outside a registered shop.
Anyone who suspects that they have bought counterfeit sugar should keep the packaging, receipt, seller’s details and any messages connected to the purchase. These details can help investigators trace the source of the goods and identify other points in the supply chain.
The Southlea Park raid has placed a sizeable consignment, a delivery truck and a complete set of packaging equipment in the hands of investigators. It has also exposed how a familiar household brand can be copied and placed into circulation from an ordinary residential property in Harare.
As Mutandwa’s case proceeds, authorities are expected to focus on where the sugar came from, who supplied the bags and whether other retailers or distributors were connected to the operation. The seizure has given enforcement agencies a clear point from which to trace the wider network behind the fake Tongaat Hulett packaging.