• On Monday, they held a prayer meeting at a Nairobi hotel to ask God to intervene over their plight.
• While quoting Psalms 50:15, the operators said they have decided to call on God's name to protected from what they termed as a disaster.
Image: FILE
Liquor traders, pubs and night club operators and their employees in Nairobi have sought divine intervention over the recent move by the county to ban nightclubs in residential areas.
Under the Hospitality Employees Association (HEA), the group claims the directive has put the livelihoods of more than 36,000 employees in jeopardy as they are about to lose their jobs.
"It is estimated that out of the 400 bars licenced as nightclubs in the city, each of them employs about 50-80 full-time employees (a total average of 26,000 people) and 20-30 temporary employees, an average of 10,000 people," they said in a statement released on Tuesday.
The group said they are just in the process of recovering from the hardships they went through during the Covid-19 pandemic after being out of work for two years.
On Monday, they held a prayer meeting at a Nairobi hotel to ask God to intervene over their plight.
While quoting Psalms 50:15, the operators said they have decided to call on God's name to protect from what they termed as a disaster.
The verse says, "Call upon me in the day of trouble, I shall deliver you and you shall glorify me."
"We pray that God will intervene during disasters like this only if we call upon the Lord’s name can we have the chance to be protected and that’s why we have come to seek divine intervention for our industry," they said.
On November 25, the Nairobi county government cancelled licences for nightclubs that were operating in residential areas and said it will no longer issue the permits to such premises.
Acting county secretary Jairus Musumba said the affected entertainment joints can continue operating as bars and restaurants but keep the volume of music low.
"Specifically, playing of music must stop by 10 pm," Musumba said.
He said the move was informed by increased complaints of noise pollution in residential areas.
But the operators who also include those in the hotel industry said that the reduced time of operation has forced them to reduce their staff.
"With the declaration by Nairobi county, nightclubs will have to lay off staff, and most of us have already issued notice to leave employment because of the reduced hours of operation."
The group appealed to Governor Johnson Sakaja and President William Ruto to intervene
"Kindly protect us, we are always arrested and submitted in county court, fined, and oppressed. We are crying and praying that the government listens and protects our source of livelihood."
They further apologised to residents who were previously affected by the noise in residential areas and
"As employees of bars and pubs in the city, the music department, we apologise to Kenyans whose rights to live in areas free of noise pollution have been violated in the past. May you forgive us as we make our prayers for God to intervene," they said.
"We promise to work with all authorities to ensure there's decency and peaceful coexistence within the neighbourhood where our pubs are located."