Kenya has banned sale of alcohol in supermarkets, restaurants, online platforms and residential area
Kenyans who love their tipple are in for a rude shock after the State moved to ban the sale of alcohol in supermarkets, restaurants, online platforms, and residential areas.
In a new notice, the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) has also banned the delivery of liquor to people’s homes by vendors, a popular option for urban residents.
The government has listed the following modes and places where alcohol sale is banned:
1. Vending machines
2. Public beaches, public parks, amusement parks, recreational facilities,and medical facilities, sports facilities, bus parks, bus stops, petrol stations, railway stations, public transport including trains, ferry stations, piers, and along the highways
3. Hawking
4. Online sale of alcohol
5. Home deliveries and couriers
6. Supermarkets
7. Outlets selling products associated with children, such as toy shops
8. Residential premises and areas
9. Restaurants
10. Basic education, tertiary, and higher learning institutions
Age limit change, influencer ban
In a move that will also affect online personalities, social media influencers, and celebrities have been prohibited from endorsing, promoting, or advertising alcohol, drugs, or substances. The new policy also prohibits entertainment, sports, and media personalities from the same.
The government has also set 21 years as the minimum legal age for consuming alcohol, effectively ending the 18-year legal limit. Additionally, no person under the age of 21 will be allowed to access or enter any alcohol-selling outlets — whether accompanied or unaccompanied by an appropriate adult.
Further, alcohol-related businesses have been prohibited from naming and branding sports teams after an alcoholic drink. In a move that will likely hit the sports sector, the new policy also bans companies from sponsoring, branding a sports league, tournament or a national team.
The new rules are contained in the national policy for the prevention, management, and control of alcohol, drugs, and substance abuse, which is dated July 2025.
“This policy is the culmination of an extensive, inclusive, and collaborative effort involving diverse stakeholders across Kenya—from national and county governments to civil society, faith-based groups, the private sector, and the general public. Together, we have forged a unified approach to prevent, mitigate, and control the devastating impact of alcohol, drugs, and substance abuse in our nation,” CS Murkomen says in the foreword of the document.
Nacada is the agency that will be mandated to implement the policy.
“To maximise impact, Nacada will mobilise and align stakeholders in designing, executing, and monitoring interventions aimed at reducing substance abuse and its devastating effects,” Interior PS Raymond Omollo says in the document’s preface.