Dilemma in the fight against alcoholism

The alcohol retail industry is breaking the law, according to high-ranking officials in the national and county governments.

Tough new measures have been proposed to curb the sale of alcohol, but critics argue that existing laws are enough to protect the public from the type of dangerous brews that killed at least 20 people in Kirinyaga. Law enforcement, the critics say, is the problem.

In February’s tragedy in Kirinyaga county, the lethal drink was supplied by police officers who took it from the evidence store of a local police station. Four officers have since been arraigned in court over the incident.

Bar owners across the country say they must pay local police a daily fee or else face harassment and possible closure of their businesses.

“We give them Sh100-200 a day, and it doesn’t matter whether or not you have sold anything, they want their money,” a pub owner at the Coast told the Star. The businesswoman cannot be named to protect her business.

Wouldn’t it be easier for her and other bar operators to simply comply with the law and avoid trouble? The official opening hours for bars are 5pm to 11pm on weekdays and 2pm to 11 pm on weekends and public holidays.

“Even if I closed at 11pm, the police will still want their daily cut," the businesswoman says. "You cannot survive in the bar business if you stick to the official hours. I have expenses such as salaries for the bar attendants, cleaners and security."

Sh200 a day seems a small amount of money but, with tiny profit margins on each alcoholic product, the money represents several bottles worth of sales.

BUSINESS RATIONALE

With bar owners having to pay the money whether or not they comply with the law, what incentive exists for anyone to play by the book? Why would a rational businessperson close his or her business at 11pm, when competitors are allowed to stay open beyond that time?

Perhaps realising the weaknesses in law enforcement, the government has promised to reward law enforcement officers with promotions and state honours in the national crackdown on hard drugs and illicit brews.

“The move is meant to incentivise the ongoing war against the scourge, which is now threatening to debilitate families,” Interior CS Kindiki Kithure announced on March 8 in Nyeri county.

Later in Kirinyaga county, Kindiki warned that security officers would be fired and prosecuted if found to be facilitating the production, sale, distribution and consumption of deadly drinks and substances. Previously, they were just transferred.

The crackdown is already biting. By the second week of March, at least 85 bars had been shut down in Mombasa’s Changamwe subcounty, 20 bars closed in Kisumu and another 20 in Belgut, Kericho county.

In Nairobi, Governor Johnson Sakaja ordered the closure of alcohol shops located around matatu termini, blaming drinking for an increase in road accidents.

"In our stages and termini, madereva na touts wanakunywa sana. The wines and spirits located at the stages, tutazitoa," Sakaja is quoted saying.

Back in Kirinyaga, Governor Anne Waiguru reacted to February's tragedy by ordering the closure of all bars in the county for fresh vetting. By the end of that month, at least 700 had been reopened after meeting various legal requirements.

The crackdown on bars is leading to fears over job losses. Ugunja MP Opiyo Wandayi, who is also the National Assembly’s Minority Leader, condemned the closure of bars in Kisumu, saying that legitimate businesses were hard hit.

"Paradoxically, the forceful closure of licensed alcohol businesses will only compound the problem of joblessness and escalate crime levels in the region," he said.

RURAL ECONOMY

Jeremiah Kioni, secretary general of the Jubilee party, warned that the rural economy will collapse when bars in shopping centres are closed.

“When you close two or three bars at a shopping centre, you have collapsed the whole economic ecosystem,” Kioni said in an interview on TV47.

The Bar, Hotel and Liquor Traders Association (Bahlita) has on numerous occasions warned of job losses should tougher laws on the sale of alcohol be implemented. The lobby says each bar employs an average of five people, who would be negatively affected by closures.

Soon after the Kirinyaga tragedy in February, Bahlita chairman Simon Njoroge said the imposition of harsher restrictions on retailers would push more of them underground, thus worsening the sale of illicit alcohol instead of stopping it.

Despite the furore about alcohol, the portion of Kenyans who regularly partake of it is surprisingly low compared to the country's estimated population of 53 million.

A 2022 joint survey by several government agencies, including Nacada, reported that just about 12 per cent of Kenyans aged 15-65 regularly consume alcohol.

About 5 per cent of Kenyans aged 15-65 are addicted to alcohol (alcoholics). That means less than half of alcohol consumers are addicted to the drink.

“The survey established that alcohol continues to be the most widely used substance of abuse in Kenya," the report stated.

The findings pointed towards increasing demand for cheaper and readily available alcoholic products, especially chang'aa, traditional brews and potable spirits.

Though the actual number of people who consume alcohol is low compared to the national population, the effects of their drinking are felt in homes, workplaces and communities across the country.

The Centre for Disease Control states that excessive alcohol consumption “increases aggression and may increase the risk of physically assaulting another person”. In the home, alcohol increases the likelihood of domestic violence.

There are also the deaths and injuries resulting from drunk driving and accidents caused by intoxicated machine operators. Furthermore, alcohol consumption combined with mental health issues such as depression heightens an individual’s chances of committing suicide.

CDC adds that alcohol use among men makes them vulnerable to risky sexual activity, including unprotected sex, sex with multiple partners or sex with a partner at risk for sexually transmitted infections.

Despite all the problems associated with alcohol, it is very much a legal drink. Kenya is not among the countries that have prohibited the consumption of alcohol on its territory. Traditional brews such as mnazi (coconut wine), muratina and busaa are a key part of the cultural practices of some ethnic groups.

The dilemma now is how to balance consumer safety, culture and the economic benefits of the alcoholic beverage industry.