Kiambu County residents will be able to enjoy local brews as well as pubs and bars in town centers should Governor Kimani Wamatangi assent to the new bill from the county's assembly.
In the new bill, alcohol brewers and distillers will be required to obtain licenses and permits from village elders and chiefs. The traders will also be required to move their joints from villages to urban centers after members of the County Assembly passed a new law on Thursday.
Reason for the transfer is to make it easy for security agencies to oversee the implementation of the regulatory procedures.
Alcohol will also be subjected to laboratory tests and distributors found selling illicit brews will be liable to a fine of Ksh2 million or spend two years behind bars or both.
Hezron Gichui, the County Assembly Business Committee chair, revealed that in the new law, distillers of traditional brews like muratina will be required to seek operation licenses from chiefs and village elders. The requirement is aimed at combating excessive consumption of alcohol in the county.
"For a manufacturer, he will be fined a fine of Ksh10 million or an imprisonment of 10 years or both punishments because we need to regulate consumption," Gichuhi told the media.
‘'Distributors found selling illicit brews will be subjected to a fine of Ksh 2 million or be subjected to two years imprisonment or a combination of both.’'
The lawmaker further noted that the new bill was prompted by past instances where the sale and consumption of muratina has been done without legal regulations in place.
The law will also see pub owners compelled to operate in shops that are clean and have adequate and proper sanitary arrangements.
Those found selling wines and spirits in packets will also be taken in for legal action as well as those found operating near learning institutions.
The law also aims to regulate operational hours of bars and pubs in the county of Kiambu and take stern action on anyone found flouting the law.
The law, which is currently awaiting the approval of Kiambu Governor Kimani Wamatangi, was passed after a public participation was conducted.
Alcohol consumption in the region has been a major issue that recently attracted the attention of Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua who has been on a campaign to curb the menace.
“I am prepared to lose my job if it means saving our nation from this menace,” Gachagua declared during a church service at PCEA Gateway, in March 2024.
