City pub closed after arrest of minors in Mashujaa bash
By SAMUEL KARANJANairobi County authorities have withdrawn the license of a bar in which more than 200 boys and girls were found drinking alcohol on Mashujaa Day.
According to Nairobi Liquor Licensing Board chairman Robinson Shimoli, Jerry City Hotel and Bar will no longer be allowed to operate.
He said the bar was previously licensed and had fulfilled all the conditions before the recent arrest of the minors.
“There is a law which says that you should not sell alcohol to minors and if you break it, there is a penalty.
“We have withdrawn the license for that bar,” Mr Shimoli
He was speaking in a Nairobi hotel during the evaluation of a campaign against underage drinking that is being sponsored by Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL).
Police on October 20 arrested the minors at the bar on Dubois Road, Nairobi, some of them as young as nine years old.
Another 150 adult revellers were also seized at the same club during the 3pm swoop that also resulted in the arrest of four employees of the pub.
Police found the children with alcohol in cans, rolls of bhang and condoms.
The minors are suspected to have arrived at the pub at 8am
Mr Shimoli, while lauding the police for their good work, said the city has formed surveillance groups in every ward with a mandate to provide information on illegal bars.
“We have come up with a ‘friendly force’ made up of 10 youth in every ward who will ensure bars operate properly,” he added.
He said Nairobi had 12,000 drinking joints but only 4,500 were licensed, posing a headache to authorities.
On dealing with alcoholism, Mr Shimoli said the county government had set aside Sh230 million with a view to setting up four rehabilitation centres from 2016.
For its part, KBL said it had trained over 17,000 retail staff in over 5,000 bars in the country in an effort to curb underage drinking.
The beer manufacturer’s corporate relations director, Mr Eric Kiniti, said the training had created a positive impact of 69 per cent in the anti-underage drinking campaign called “Under 18 Asipewe”.
“The campaign, which was launched in March 2015, brings together manufacturers, retailers, parents, teachers and the government in addressing the root causes of underage drinking, through stakeholder forums and retail staff trainings across the country,” he said.
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