Licences for alcoholic brands cancelled in police crackdown

A man who was found in a pub serving alcohol during prohibited hours in Eldoret Town on July 2, 2015 escapes through the roof during a crackdown. A company manufacturing alcoholic drinks whose brands include Blue Moon Vodka has obtained court orders barring police from invading its factory in Industrial Area Nairobi. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | NATION MEDIA GROUP

What you need to know:

  • General Service Unit officers were deployed in central Kenya, where the drinking problem is most prevalent, to lead the crackdown that will see the closure of factories and confiscation of bootleg drinks.
  • The minister said a magistrate is under investigation over reports that he owns a factory involved in the production of bootleg alcohol.
  • The CS reached out to the governors because licensing is handled by counties, while the national government is responsible for the enforcement of laws.

The Interior ministry yesterday cancelled licences for a wide range of alcohol brands in the market in a countrywide crackdown targeting illegal drinks.

Cabinet Secretary Joseph Nkaissery said most of the drinks are substandard. He said alcohol abuse led to the death of 14,000 youths every year.

The category of drinks targeted are popular among youth because they are cheap and have a high alcoholic content.

General Service Unit officers were deployed in central Kenya, where the drinking problem is most prevalent, to lead the crackdown that will see the closure of factories and confiscation of bootleg drinks.

Major-General (rtd) Joseph Nkaissery said the alcohol-related deaths mostly affected youths aged below 21.

“They die from alcohol-related incidents, including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and associated injuries,” he said.

Maj-Gen (rtd) Nkaissery added: “Recently, the country witnessed a number of deaths occasioned by alcohol abuse. This has resulted in a public outcry in the affected areas. The wanton killing of our people, particularly youths, through poisonous drinks is unacceptable.”

The operation also involves investigations to identify government officials involved in the business as factory owners, distributors as well as owners of retail outlets. Anyone identified would be sent home.

“If it is found that an assistant chief allows this to happen, he will lose his job. The same applies to the county and sub- county commissioners, as well as police commanders. This is an order and it will not be retracted,” said Maj-Gen (rtd) Nkaissery.

The minister said a magistrate is under investigation over reports that he owns a factory involved in the production of bootleg alcohol.

He was addressing journalists in Nairobi. He was accompanied by Council of Governors (CoG) Chairman Peter Munya.

The government effort was endorsed by CoG. The two pledged to work together to curb the menace.

The CS reached out to the governors because licensing is handled by counties, while the national government is responsible for the enforcement of laws.

Mr Munya said: “The two levels of government have agreed to immediately suspend all second generation alcoholic beverage licences until an inter-agency team carries out a nationwide inspection of premises and analysis of alcoholic products to ensure that they meet quality standards.”

He said county governments, in consultation with the national government, would coordinate the prevention, early detection and management of alcohol abuse through education, advocacy and enforcement of laws.

He said the drive is aimed at curb deaths and ill-health caused by alcohol abuse,

After the crackdown, an inter-agency team will inspect all factories that produce alcoholic drinks and recommend the reinstatement of licences for those that meet the standards.

Inspectors will be on the lookout for drinks that are made with methanol, a form of alcohol that causes blindness when consumed.

The Kenya Bureau of Standards will publish a list of all second generation brands that are not to be sold until they have been inspected and cleared.