Vetting of bars kicks off in Kirinyaga

The County Government of Kirinyaga has kicked off vetting of all liquor outlets even as a crackdown on the sale and manufacture of illicit brews continues.

The exercise kicked off with a physical inspection of bars by a multi-agency team drawn from the national and county governments in all 20 wards.

During the vetting process, owners of liquor outlets are required to produce licenses for 2023 and approved applications for 2024.

Other stringent conditions set out by the multi-agency team for re-opening of bars include compliance with public health regulations and bars should not be near schools and places of worship.

The outlets should also not have previous cases of non-compliance with liquor licensing regulations.

Apart from the National Government Administration, County Government officials and the police, the multi-agency team also includes Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), the Kenya Bureau of Standard (KEBS), and Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) officials among others.

County Executive Committee Member for Sports, Culture and Social Services Dennis Muciimi said the verification process will be done within the shortest time possible to allow legitimate traders to resume business.

Muciimi assured bar owners that the exercise will be done openly and transparently to ensure those who have complied with liquor licensing regulations are allowed to reopen.

The CEC said the vetting team will visit all alcoholic drinks outlets in their respective wards to undertake the exercise.

He said bar owners who fail to show up for the exercise will be deemed to have exited the business.

On Saturday, Governor Anne Waiguru also said bars with previous cases of selling illicit alcohol and operating without licenses will not be allowed to reopen.

Kirinyaga County Commissioner Hussein Allasow said the bar closure order issued by Governor Waiguru on Saturday has been enforced to allow for the vetting exercise.

Allasow asked bar owners and other stakeholders to cooperate with the government to wipe out the sale of poisonous alcoholic drinks in the county.

On Monday, bar owners in Kirinyaga County pleaded with Waiguru to allow them to operate their business.

Bar owners from Mwea-East sub-county led by their chairman Bernard Waweru said they are optimistic Waiguru's administration will allow them to operate after vetting.

“Bars were closed on Saturday where hundreds of individuals who depend on our establishments for a living have been struggling to put food on their table, but today we will smile,” Waweru said.