Gachagua makes it tougher to sell alcohol in Mt Kenya

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua said yesterday that he is ready to pay the ultimate political price in pushing for stringent laws and other measures to curb illicit brews, which he argued threaten to wipe out a generation.

Speaking when he hosted Members of the County Assembly of Nyandarua at his official residence in Karen, Nairobi, Gachagua applauded the leaders for passing the County Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill, 2023 meant to combat the sale of poisonous brews in the county.

The Bill was signed into law by Governor Kiarie Badilisha on January 19- two days after the Assembly passed it.

Nyandarua becomes the first county to adopt a more stringent law to back the war against illicit alcoholic drinks, drugs and substance abuse spearheaded by the Deputy President as per the Executive Order No. 1 and 2 of 2023.

Other counties working on a similar law include Murang’a Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Kiambu among others.
“We will not relent in this war. Many people have tried to dissuade me from it, but we will not. If by enacting laws to protect the next generation from extinction, if by making sure that the law is strictly enforced to save the next generation from extinction, if that will bring our political careers to an end, so be it,” Gachagua said.

The Deputy President said there is no pride in leading a drunken population that is unproductive to the facility and community.

“There is no need for one to lead a drunken population. There is no pride in being the Deputy President and everywhere I go, people are staggering and sleeping in ditches for being alcoholics. I would like to lead sober and dignified people; people who are prosperous, smart and work hard and take care of themselves and their families,” he added.

The law establishes the County Alcoholic Drinks Regulation and Management committee that will be tasked with streamlining the issuance of licenses for the manufacture, distribution and sale of any alcoholic drink in the devolved unit.The Act also establishes Sub-County Alcoholic Drinks Regulation Committee that will be in charge of issuance of licenses in the sub-counties.

It also prohibits transportation of alcoholic drinks between 6pm and 8am.
Following the move, Gachagua yesterday basked in the glory of his efforts to end the alcoholism menace in Mt Kenya region.

The new law states that all the sub-counties in Nyandarua will have an alcoholic drinks regulation committee that receives and vets applications for retail and wholesale licenses. The committee will be mandated to submit quarterly reports detailing applications received, vetted, and recommended for approval to the County Alcoholic Drinks Regulation and Management Committee.

Local supermarkets have been banned from selling alcoholic drinks, unless the management committee is satisfied that the applicant has taken measures to ensure the area in which the sale is to take place cannot be accessed by persons under the age of 18 years.

Similarly, a licence to sell alcoholic drinks will also not be granted to an outlet or premises located within a fast food restaurant.

The county, through the new Act, requires those who want to produce, manufacture or distribute any alcoholic drinks or to operate an establishment selling alcoholic drinks to make an application in writing to the management committee.

Failure to have a license to manufacture, produce, sell, distribute or dispose alcoholic beverages within Nyandarua, one risks a fine of up to Sh30,000 or a sentence of up to four months.

Within 21 days of application for the license, according to the Act, the sub-county committee will prepare a notice bearing the names of all applicants, types of licenses applied for, and the premises in respect of which the licenses are applied.

The notice of those licensed is to be displayed at the Office of the Deputy County Commissioner.
The DP praised the county’s leadership, emphasising that it is safeguarding a generation at risk of being wiped out by illicit brews.

In 2014, Nyandarua passed the County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act to curb the infiltration of liquor causing considerable suffering to the locals.