This archive report was first published on 20 August 2019.
On August 20, 2019, Murang'a County government embarked on a mission to ensure liquor products sold to customers are safe.
As part of this initiative, the county liquor licensing board has started collecting samples of various brands in the market and taking them for analysis at the government's chemist.
County liquor program officer Phares Njue explained that this effort aims to prevent dealers from sneaking in harmful substances onto their shelves.
The county government is collecting samples of all brands in the market for analysis, putting distributors under surveillance to ensure their products are safe for consumers.
According to Njue, samples of 10 brands were collected last week and submitted for analysis.
“Murang’a has been kept safe from harmful products following the initiative to collect samples from outlets on a monthly basis,” said Njue.
The exercise is supported by the Murang’a Bar and Hotel Owners Association, whose members provide samples at will.
Chairman Simon Jogoo Njoroge noted that the exercise has been successful in blocking illicit brews from accessing the market.
He added that the project, coordinated through the liquor licensing programme, has educated traders to identify fake KRA stamps.
“A lot has been achieved through the coordination platform between the players in the sector,” said Jogoo.
Notably, a multi-agency team discovered some outlets were not licensed and selling expired products during an operation in Kandara Sub-County last year.
