Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has announced a fresh crackdown on substandard alcoholic drinks, describing them as poisonous. The move aims to address concerns over the impact of these drinks on the health of young people in Mt Kenya and other parts of Kenya. Kindiki convened a meeting of security agencies and regulators to strengthen the fight against alcoholic drinks that fail to meet required health and safety standards.
The meeting will bring together officials from the Ministry of Interior, Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Anti-Counterfeit Authority, and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), among other agencies. Their goal is to tighten controls on the manufacture and sale of alcoholic drinks. Kindiki emphasized that the agencies must ensure that alcoholic drinks reaching consumers meet prescribed safety and quality standards.
The crackdown comes amid concerns over alcohol abuse in Central Kenya, where affordability, availability, and consumption of illicit and low-cost alcoholic drinks have been identified as major challenges. According to the 2022 National Survey on the Status of Drugs and Substance Use by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), the Central region recorded an alcohol-use-disorder prevalence of 9.9 per cent.
This translates to about 337,723 people aged 15 to 65 in the region struggling with alcohol use disorders. The region also recorded a 4.1 per cent prevalence of potable-spirit use, the highest among the regions covered by the survey. Nationally, about 1.36 million people aged 15 to 65 were reported to be addicted to alcohol.
The meeting is expected to lay out strategies on how to close gaps that allow unsafe drinks to reach consumers. Kindiki's predecessor, impeached Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, carried out a massive crackdown in the region in 2023, ordering the closure of hundreds of brewing dens. The fight against substandard alcoholic drinks will focus on ensuring that beverages sold to the public comply with health and quality requirements.
Kindiki also appealed for an end to personal attacks among leaders, saying he was willing to forgive those who had criticised or insulted him. He maintained that he would no longer respond to personal attacks, saying his focus was on defending and uniting communities in Mt Kenya and across the country.
Energy PS Alex Wachira expressed support for Kindiki's declaration, saying alcoholism has been a thorn in the flesh of locals for decades. The initiative aims to eliminate counterfeit alcohol in the region and the country.
Key points
- The Deputy President has convened a meeting of security agencies and regulators to strengthen the fight against substandard alcoholic drinks.
- The Central region recorded an alcohol-use-disorder prevalence of 9.9 per cent, translating to about 337,723 people aged 15 to 65.
- The meeting aims to lay out strategies to close gaps that allow unsafe drinks to reach consumers.
