Nyandarua County Commissioner Abdirisack Jaldesa has declared swoops across the County to get rid of second-generation beers, illicit brews, and bhang but assured that doing genuine alcoholic drinks business would be protected
The administrator spoke after leading a meeting between officials from the administration, County government, Office of Public Prosecution, and the police to strategize on the crackdown.
“Lives have been lost in some counties due to consumption of illicit brews and we in Nyandarua want to revitalize structures mandated to get rid of illegal bars and drinks and save lives,” said Jaldesa.
An alcoholic drinks control law recently developed by the Nyandarua government has been hailed as the silver bullet the County needed to rescue residents from alcoholism bondage.
The law gives the people the power of regulating the issuance of licenses through sub-country committees which will vet applicants and receive any objections from the public.
“It is a good law since it establishes committees at the county level (Sub-County Alcoholic Drinks Regulation Committee) whose mandate is to review all license applications to ensure only people of good conduct are allowed to operate alcoholic drinks businesses in the County,” added the County Commissioner.
The Nyandarua County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2024 which was gazetted in January this year and replaces the one that has been in force since 2019, bans transportation of alcoholic drinks at night.
It also restricts drinking hours from 5 pm to 11 pm on weekdays and 2 pm to 11 pm on weekends and public holidays. Supermarkets and franchised chain stores will only sell alcohol between 4 pm and 10 pm, according to the new law.
The Act indicates the four categories of licenses recognized by the law; Manufacturer’s license, Wholesaler’s license, Retailer’s license, and Distributor’s license.
These licenses are allowed to operate in the major towns of Mairo Inya, Ol Kalou, Ol Joroorok, Ndaragwa, Miharati, Engineer, and Njabini.
Governor Kiarie Badilisha’s administration has been seeking to end the running of bars in rural areas in Nyandarua.
The new law outlaws the issuance of off-license for alcoholic drinks businesses in all other urban centres across the County.
By Antony Mwangi
