Alcoblow is back, no more one for the road

After the largely lacklustre tenure of Chirau Ali Mwakwere, acting Transport Minister Amos Kimunya has taken the driver’s seat and appears determined to prove his worth. Kimunya has put motorists who drink and drive on notice with the announcement that Alcoblow will soon be back.

Now, before the gadget was introduced, Kenya’s drink-driving law enforcement was slack. Suddenly, drivers woke up to the sober reality that they could be arrested if they took the wheel after having one too many.

The gadget caused widespread fear before it was withdrawn after a legal challenge. Most motorists had earlier raised health concerns and accused police of using Alcoblow as an easy route to demand bribes. There was also hazy definition of the allowed level of alcohol and the efficiency of the gadget to determine this.

PointBlank certainly hopes Mr Kimunya has taken into account the earlier challenges. And given frequent complaints of police corruption, we hope Alcoblow will not provide a new avenue for harassment and bribe-taking.