Thirty-five people among them police officers have been arrested in the ongoing crackdown on the sale and manufacture of illicit brews in Kirinyaga.
This comes days after Governor Anne Waiguru ordered the closure of all bars in Kirinyaga County.
Addressing the press, Kirinyaga County Commissioner Hussein Allasow said the bar closure order issued by Waiguru had been enforced to allow for the vetting exercise.
“We have done an operation and I want to confirm that all bars are closed except for a few who want to play cat and mouse games. Because of fear that there still could be poisonous drinks out there, the bars will remain closed until when vetting is complete,” Allasow stated.
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Josephine Karioko Muchira, owner of Holiday Inn Pub in Kutus, was arrested and her pub shut down for manufacturing and selling illicit brew.
Karioko was allegedly found in possession of over 100 liters of illicit brew with fake Kenya Bureau of Standard (KEBS) and Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) stamps.
County Executive Committee Member for Sports, Culture and Social Services Dennis Muciimi disclosed that the verification process commenced on Monday with 20 ward multi-agency vetting committees being tasked to undertake the exercise.
“These committees will conduct physical verification of all alcoholic outlets to determine whether an establishment meets the criteria of licenses as stipulated in Kirinyaga County Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, 2014,” remarked Muciimi.
