Brewer, Laikipia county row taken to court

A Nairobi based brewer has taken Laikipia County government to court for barring the distribution and sale of its brand not packaged in glass containers.

Patiala Distillers Limited whose products have been restricted from being distributed and sold within Laikipia County because of packaging standards, claims that the county has imposed standards of manufacture and packaging of alcoholic products that are contrary to the national requirement.

The brewer claims that Section 35(2) of the County laws forbids manufacturers from packaging 250ml of the said beverage in other containers apart from glass which is allegedly contrary to the Alcoholic drinks control Act No.4 which allows use of other material containers including metallic, wooden or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) bottles of more than 200ml.

Through lawyer Kabugu Muguku, the brewer said manufacturing and packaging of alcoholic products is a multi-sectoral industry touching on various sectors of the economy hence it requires uniformity countrywide.

The Embakasi based manufacturer which is seeking to temporarily halt that section of the county’s Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, claimed that if such kind of legislation is to be implemented, it should be applied nationally and not in select counties.

The brewer also claimed that the regulation relating to standards of manufacture and packaging is under consumer protection and not a county government function.

They alleged that county governments are entitled to legislate liquor licensing and not manufacturing as well as packaging and that as a result of that law their products have been unlawfully obstructed from business.

They also alleged that their products are manufactured and packaged in compliance with standards prescribed under the national law not individual counties.

They fault Mr Joshua Irungu’s administration of being keen on undermining economic unity of the country because it obstructs the movement of goods and services from one county to another saying that their business has been adversely affected.

“Our customers and retailers have been arrested and prosecuted for possessing our alcoholic beverage, no distributor is accepting to touch our products for fear of being arrested yet we trade everywhere except in Laikipia,” said Patiala’s director Francis Kiriiro.

They first filed their case in Laikipia on June 26 but the matter was transferred to Nairobi.

And High Court judge Isaac Lenaola has directed them to serve the county government before getting further directions.