The Former President Uhuru Kenyatta’s party, Jubilee has threatened to sue the government in the next week over the closure of bars in the country.
According to the party’s Secretary General, Jeremiah Kioni, the party will initiate a class action against the government if anyone else fails to do so by next week.
“I believe in the coming days there has to be somebody going to court, and if we don’t see one going to court we will spearhead one in the form of a class suit,” explained Kioni.
Speaking in Muranga, on Thursday, Kioni termed the closure of bars as a blanket ruling and sabotage of the economy as the bars sold licensed products.
“When you have paid for a licence and the money has been received and the license issued when the bars are closed that amounts to a breach of contract,” explained Kioni.
He further noted that the government should have been cracking down on the manufacturers and not on the bars.
Kioni further noted that more than 200 bars had been closed in the Murang’a region only amidst other closures in other towns.
Further within his speech, Kioni noted that property was destroyed in the process and no one was working to cushion the business owners from the losses.
Additionally, the secretary general criticised the government for harassment and intimidation of civil servants during the crackdowns terming the situation as unlawful.
He noted that it was not contrary to the law that the bars and civil servants were in operation.
The proposed lawsuit is a consequence of the government’s stringent measures on liquor stores and closing them across the country.
Cabinet Secretary for the Interior Ministry, Kithure Kindiki, further announced that law enforcement officers were not allowed to operate bars within the country after several were implicated in the sale of illicit brew in Kirinyaga.
