Drink at your own risk, Nacada warns
A shopper buys alcohol at a local supermarket. PHOTO / Fredrick Onyango
What you need to know:
- Anti-drugs agency official says they have yet to be served with court order suspending Act
It may be too soon to celebrate Friday’s High Court ruling that temporarily suspends the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act.
The National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (Nacada) on Saturday said it had yet to be served with the court orders, and thus the law was still in force.
In a press release Nacada said it had only learnt of the temporary suspension of the law through the media and encouraged police officers to continue enforcing it.
“Members of the public should be aware that the entire Act is still in force,” Nacada’s acting boss Aggrey Busena said.
In particular, Mr Busena said, hours of sale of alcoholic drinks and the ban on sale to persons under 18 would remain operational.
The Act, which came into effect last November, says persons under 18 are not allowed access to areas where alcoholic drinks are sold, stored or manufactured.
“Persons who violate the provisions of the Act will be arrested and prosecuted,” Mr Busena said in the statement.
Legally, for an order of the court to be effected, it has to be served in person on the affected parties.
High Court Judge John Mwera on Friday issued the temporary orders stopping the implementation of the regulations following an application by Murang’a bar owners.
The orders were obtained on the grounds that the transitional clauses in the law allow for a nine-month compliance period which had yet to lapse.
Although the Act came into effect two months ago, the regulations that would announce its commencement date are yet to be gazetted.
Justice Mwera certified the case as urgent and said the order would be in effect until Tuesday when the matter is heard.
He therefore directed the bar owners’ advocate Jeremiah Mbuthia to serve Internal Security minister George Saitoti, Nacada and the Attorney-General with the suit papers.
The new law, commonly referred to as the “Mututho law” after its sponsor Naivasha MP John Mututho, prohibits the selling of alcohol before 5 p.m. on weekdays and 2 p.m. on weekends and after 11 p.m. all week.
