NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 1 – East African Breweries Limited (EABL) has referred to as for a balanced method to alcohol regulation, warning that proposed coverage adjustments by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) may unintentionally hurt the formal alcohol trade and broader financial system.
Its CEO, Jane Karuku, talking in response to NACADA’s National Policy for the Prevention, Management, and Control of Alcohol, Drugs, and Substance Abuse (2025), mentioned the proposals stay speculative and require deeper engagement.
“First of all, that is mere speculation and I don’t have facts and I can’t comment on speculation,” she mentioned.
“At this point, as far as we are concerned, they are guidelines. They will go through the normal hoops of conversations, from public participation and within Parliament.”
The new proposals advocate sweeping restrictions, together with a ban on alcohol promoting, on-line gross sales, dwelling deliveries, and movie star endorsements.
The coverage additionally proposes elevating the authorized age for buying, promoting, and consuming alcohol from 18 to 21 years and banning alcohol branding in sports activities and way of life advertising and marketing that glamorises consuming.
Karuku defended the function of the formal alcohol sector within the financial system, warning that overregulation dangers driving extra customers towards the unregulated and illicit market, which she mentioned already includes 60% of alcohol consumption in Kenya.
She famous EABL’s intensive financial footprint, together with its partnerships with over 60,000 farmers and a distribution community spanning 250,000 shops throughout East Africa.
Karuku acknowledged the significance of tackling dangerous consumption however emphasised the necessity for a fact-based, consultative course of.
Karuku’s sentiments be part of a listing of organisations that proceed to specific dissatisfaction with the proposed NACADA insurance policies.
Earlier, the Retail Trade Association of Kenya (RETRAK) voiced issues over its exclusion from the event of the newly launched National Policy on Alcohol, Drugs, and Substance Abuse (2025), calling for a extra clear and inclusive method to the coverage course of.
RETRAK, in a press release, asserted that it was neither consulted nor invited to contribute to the formulation of the coverage, which was unveiled earlier by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen in Nairobi.
