A High Court in Kisumu has suspended Interior Cabinet Secretary (CS) Kithure Kindiki’s order on the closure of bars in residential areas. The minister announced the directive almost 2 weeks ago when he shared various measures that the Kenyan Government is taking in the fight against illicit alcohol in the country.
The suspension of the directive by Kindiki was ordered after Kisumu Bar Owners Association moved to court to fight it.
The court in its ruling suspended Kindiki’s directive pending a full hearing to determine the court case.
The ruling read in part “… …THAT pending hearing and determination of the application dated 8th day of March 2024, stay of the 1st Respondent’s directive issued by the Cabinet Secretary, Ministry of Interior & Coordination of National Government on the 6th March 2024 for the closure of all bars in Kenya and Kisumu County be and is hereby granted.”
CS Kithure Kindiki had announced the following measures to fight illicit alcohol in the country;
- All licenses and certification permits for second-generation alcohol and alcoholic beverage distillers and manufacturers, issued by the Kenya Revenue Authority(KRA) and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) stand suspended with immediate effect. All existing valid licenses will be vetted afresh within twenty-one (21) days of this directive, with premises approved to resume operations only upon receipt of fresh approval.
- Fresh applications shall require manufacturers to have Quality Control laboratories installed with Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detectors and operated by competent laboratory analysts to test all incoming raw materials and finished products before their release to the market. The laboratories should be registered with providers of Inter-Laboratory comparison and submit their Quality Control results to the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) on monthly basis.
- All alcohol manufacturers shall henceforth be required to establish and document all traders in their distribution chain and have procedures for ensuring full traceability from factories to the consumers of alcoholic products manufactured for sale.
- Within 45 days, KEBS shall ensure that all industrial ethanol is denatured or marked with a denaturing agent (denatonium benzoate) to prevent diversion and/or the accidental use of industrial ethanol in alcohol manufacture.
- Any licenses currently issued to bars, outlets and premises by County Governments that are contrary to the provisions of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, particularly relating to licensing of premises within residential areas and around basic educational institutions are null and void. County Security Teams are directed to shut down and seize such premises immediately. Similarly, no alcohol selling outlets shall be allowed to operate beyond the stipulated operation hours in accordance with Section 34 of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act.
- All public officers in the enforcement and compliance chain shall not own or operate bars directly or through proxies. Landlords and owners of premises renting out space for establishment of bars and wines and spirits outlets in prohibited areas pursuant to Section 20(c) of the Penal Code shall be deemed aiders and abetters of crime.
- All vehicles and buildings used in storage, manufacturing, and trafficking of illicit alcohol, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances shall be seized and deemed to be Government property, pursuant to Section 74 of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.