‘Strippers’ arrested as Mututho shuts down club

By KEVIN TUNOI

UASIN GISHU COUNTY, KENYA: National Authority for Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) Chairman John Mututho raided and closed down a club in Eldoret that allegedly hosted strippers.

Mututho claimed the club was operating illegally since its licence had been cancelled but the owner had ignored warnings to close it down.

He said the owner had been arrested three times in one week for re-opening the club while invoking the names of high ranking Government officials.

“He is operating with extreme impunity and we want to tell all people operating illegally that we will not tolerate this behaviour even if you claim to enjoy protection from powerful individuals,” he vowed.

Mututho said the public had complained about the club’s operations as it is located in a residential area.

There was drama when he led a contingent of security personnel and county administrators to the ‘strip club’ whose workers and patrons were caught by surprise in the Sunday night raid.

Police custody

Some skimpily dressed women, suspected to have arrived for their night job, attempted to escape via the back door but police officers nabbed them. Eldoret West Sub-county Commissioner Christopher Wanjau said arrests were made at the club.

“We arrested four people on December 4, 6 and 8 for operating illegally. We have taken them to court and the case is awaiting hearing,” the administrator said.

He added that there had been a public outcry over the explicit and erotic performances at the club.

Eldoret West OCPD Ndung’u wa Ikonya said the strippers had been arrested and are in police custody pending the determination of their cases already before the court.

The police boss urged those wishing to open bars in residential areas to hold meetings with the residents to get consensus before they can be licenced.

Meanwhile, Mututho said Nacada would take samples of drinks across the country for analysis and then publish those that are approved.

“There are over 500 alcoholic drinks and we will analyse them to see whether they are fit for consumption before we publish the approved ones. We will also do the same for imported drinks,” Mututho said.

The Nacada boss also said licences for bar owners operating near residential areas without approval as well as those near schools would be revoked.