The National Authority for Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) has revealed that half of the alcohol sold in the Kenyan market is not fit for consumption. According to a national study conducted by Nacada, out of the 162 samples of brew that were picked randomly across the country and analyzed by the government chemists, only 52 percent were fit for human consumption.

The same study also revealed that some brewers were duping consumers on the amount of alcohol content in their drinks. 50 percent of the liquor retailing in the local market has not been tested by The Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS).

BREWERS COULD BE PROSECUTED

Nacada chairman John Mututho said that they would hand over the list of brewers to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) for further investigations and possible prosecution.

“The survey we conducted established that the amount of alcohol content indicated on the bottles of most alcohol drinks is actually not the amount contained in the drink. You find a drink with an alcohol content of only 2 per cent yet the bottle indicates it contains 6 per cent,” said Mututho, adding, “It’s a gimmick the brewers were engaging to dupe consumers in return of good sales”.

Findings from a National Survey on Alcohol and Drug Abuse conducted by Nacada in 2012 indicated that 13.3 per cent of Kenyans were using alcohol.

MORE STRINGENT RULES

Famed for his strict rules that reduced the hours Kenyans spend in drinking sprees (“Mututho hours” as Kenyans christened them), Mr Mututho swore to introduce stringent measures to regulate the alcoholic drinks’ market following his official re-appointment by president Uhuru Kenyatta as chair of Nacada through a special gazette notice last week.

MUTUTHO – NOT AGAINST ALCOHOL

The former Naivasha MP had been appointed to chair the body by Uhuru in September (Standard, November 27) only for his appointment to be contested by members of the Nacada board on the argument that he had not been approved by parliament and therefore lacked the legitimacy to chair any meetings.

Mututho has however maintained that he is not against the consumption of alcohol contrary to what many Kenyans believe and that he is just taking measures to ensure that no Kenyan has to die because of consuming alcohol.