Kenya Breweries loses Sh250m in brews’ crackdown

A man prepares to set ablaze impounded brews from various joints in Nyeri town. Police discovered alcohol stores, some labelled as mobile cash transfer shops, which were stashed with cartons of the brews. Two lorry loads of the alcohol was set ablaze at a dump site in Asian Quarters estate last Saturday. [Photo: JOB WERU/STANDARD]

NAIROBI: Kenya Breweries Ltd (KBL) has claimed losses amounting to Sh250 million across the country as a result of the four-day crackdown on illicit liquor.

KBL Sales Director Kimani Mwaura said the company had shut down production lines and the whole distribution network within Central Kenya for security reasons.

"We are no longer able to protect our products and despite efforts to seek protection from the authorities, we cannot guarantee that our products are safe from vandalism," Mr Mwaura said.

He noted that despite calls from President Uhuru Kenyatta for the crackdown to steer clear of legitimate businesses, KBL and its distributors were still targets of some unscrupulous individuals.

"We expect that the tax returns for the month of July will be the worst in the last 10 years due to the losses we are experiencing," he warned.

Speaking at a forum with the central Kenya alcohol distributors and traders, Mwaura said the traders are demanding Sh50 million in compensation from the national Government to cover for the losses suffered.

Proprietor of Wamuti Beer Distributors Ltd Richard Mwangi said while beer stakeholders support the crackdown, the process had been hijacked by criminal gangs, which were destroying legitimate businesses and products by conducting illegal raids.

"Personally, I lost Sh5 million when the gangsters raided my premises in Nyeri town. The stakeholders have lost a total of Sh50 million, yet none of our products are listed as second-generation liquor," Mr Mwangi said.

Kiambu Bar Owners and Distributors Association Chairman Dominic Waithuki said over 1,000 legitimate bars had been closed down and over 50,000 people declared jobless.

"These are 1,000 families that have lost their source of income and have to find ways to recover from the losses due to the lawlessness and hooliganism witnessed during the crackdown," Mr Waithuki said.

His Nyeri counterpart, Mukundi Wambugu, claimed illegal businesses and products were being spared at the expense of legal and legitimate ones.

"First-generation liquors are spirits which are food-based and extracted from grains or berries, while the second-generation are chemical-based spirits, and we have witnessed that the people leading the raids are not distinguishing the difference between the two alcohols," Mr Wambugu said.