Two people have been arrested at a city club as the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) intensifies its crackdown on shisha dens.
The two were arrested on Wednesday, February 26 night after NACADA’s enforcement officers raided Paris Lounge in Lang’ata, Nairobi County, and confiscated a large consignment of shisha products.
The enforcement operation was led by NACADA’s Director of Compliance and Enforcement, James Koskei, who said the sting operation is part of routine compliance checks targeting illegal shisha trade in the city.
“NACADA is the body mandated to control alcohol and drug abuse in the country. We are here this evening on our normal routine compliance checks on this facility. We are coming here specifically to enforce the shisha rules,” said Koskei.
Koskei said that the crackdown follows a court of appeal ruling that upheld Gazette Notice No. 292 of 2017, which bans the sale, promotion, and use of shisha in Kenya. The appellate court dismissed a petition challenging the ban, giving NACADA full legal backing to enforce the law.
“We all know that the shisha rules under Gazette Notice No. 292 of 2017 are in force. Our Court of Appeal in December managed to throw away the petition that had been filed against that particular Gazette Notice,” Koskei explained.
During the raid, NACADA officers seized 39 shisha bongs, 11 cartons of charcoal, 12 cartons of assorted flavours, and 13 charcoal carriers. Two individuals, a shisha seller and a supervisor, were arrested.
