The government has warned that any establishment engaging in the importation, manufacture, sale, use, advertisement, promotion, or distribution of shisha will be shut.
In an announcement by Interior Secretary Kithure Kindiki on Wednesday, the new directives aim at combating alcohol and drug abuse in the country.
Kindiki emphasized that the sale of shisha has been outlawed nationwide and cautioned that both individuals and establishments found engaging in such activities will face legal consequences.
“County security teams are required to enforce this prescription without fail,” he said.
The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) has recently intensified its efforts to crack down on several establishments across major cities in the country to enforce the ban.
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In the past three days alone, authorities have apprehended 13 individuals in connection with the shisha trade after conducting raids on various entertainment venues in Nairobi.
A similar operation in Nyali, Mombasa, on January 14 led to the arrest of over 45 people associated with shisha dens.
Kenya implemented a comprehensive ban on Shisha in 2017, becoming the fourth country in East Africa to prohibit Shisha, after Uganda, Tanzania, and Rwanda.
