MPs Throw Out Proposal To Extend Drinking Hours

Alcoholic party-goers were today saddened by news that despite a spirited attempt by Mt. Elgon MP Fred Kapondi to amend the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, parliament unceremoniously rejected it.

Bars, pubs and alcohol sellers were in 2010 rocked by what has now come to be known as the “Mututho Law” where pubs came from being able to sell alcohol 24 hours a day, to only be able to sell alcohol from 5 to 10pm on weekdays, and from 2pm onwards during the weekend.

The reaction was mixed, as people who ‘recharge their batteries’ by drinking were visibly upset, while others who don’t partake of the poison were in a celebratory mood. MP Kapondi wanted to have the drinking hours extended extensively by 6 whole hours, AND remove the current rule of not allowing children into bars. His case was that drinking in restaurants was many times a family activity. Millie Odhiambo opposed this point, saying,

“commercial interests should never override the rights of children.”

Another argument from Fred Kapondi was that businesses dealing with alcohol are being unfairly loaded with additional overhead costs.

Of course, John Mututho was having nothing of this. He said,

“This would mean you have 14 hours of drinking, eight hours of sleep and only two hours of working! A working nation cannot be based on 14 hours of drinking,”

The other MPs in attendance joined Mututho in his resistance to the change.

I feel it must be said, though, that despite all these restrictive laws, Kenyan drinkers still seem to have found ways of skirting them, with leading Kenyan breweries reporting increased profits in the years after the law was introduced.