Skal man tro Kenyas store søndagsavis, “Sunday Nation”, bliver denne Jul en af de kedeligste i mands minde i det østafrikanske land, fordi den nye nationale kampagnechef mod alkohol vil lægge en særlig afgift på private selskaber, der indtager alkoholiske drikke.
NAIROBI, 15. December 2013 (NATION): The new boss of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) Mr John Mututho, who is a no-nonsense responsible drinking crusader, wants Kenyans to pay between 500 and 1.000 shillings for permits to hold house parties involving alcohol consumption..
Such parties would have to end by 11 pm (kl. 23) with those flouting risking arrest and a fine (bøde) of between 30.000 and 100.000 shilling.
Lawyers think Mututho’s latest move is not feasible. Mr Gitau Mwara, a Nairobi lawyer, said the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act 2010 ought to focus on businesses and not personal lives.
“The Act was never meant to be applicable to (kunne anvendes i) private houses; this makes the move illegal and uncon-stitutional,” he said.
Bungoma Governor Ken Lusaka said only the county (regions) government can regulate and collect revenue (afgifter) from liquor licensing.
But Mr Mututho is saying the law is behind him. He argues that Kenyans consume up to 75 per cent of all the alcohol in East Africa.
“Even if you will be sitting under a tree in your home village, that licence will be mandatory (obligatorisk) and you therefore must notify the police,” Mr Mututho said. Police went into a slumber and Kenyans went on a party and spoilt it for themselves, so do not blame Mututho.”
The Nacada boss maintained that this was not a new directive, and referred to the 16th part of the Third Schedule of the Act, which lists types of licences and the fees charged for them, where a “temporary or occasional drink licence” is provided for at a cost of 1.000 shilling.
Ms Liz Scott, a resident of Eldoret, asks why “Mr Mututho thinks he has the right to burst into our homes and private spaces, to catch us and our families and friends drinking alcohol without a licence”.
“How he is going to implement this law? I have no idea,” she says to Sunday Nation.
