National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah Backs Bill to Raise Drinking Age to 21

The Alcoholic Drinks and Drugs Control Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was read for the first time in the National Assembly on Thursday November 5, 2026, marking the start of parliamentary consideration of a proposal to raise Kenya’s minimum legal age for buying and consuming alcohol from 18 to 21 years.

The bill, sponsored by Bomachoge Chache MP Alfah Miruka Ondieki, seeks to amend the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, Cap 121, by increasing the age threshold and extending the restriction to licences for premises, employment in the alcohol trade, access to manufacturing sites and to the display and promotion of alcoholic products, all limited to persons aged 21 and over.

National Assembly Majority Leader Kimani Ichung’wah argued that 18-year-olds are still transitioning from adolescence and may not be able to make informed decisions about drinking, and said the amendment would help the country tackle the alcohol menace despite expected opposition from manufacturers and promoters.

The proposal also introduces a KSh2-per-litre levy on all locally manufactured and imported alcoholic drinks, with half of the revenue earmarked for a new National Alcoholic Drinks Control Committee and at least 15 percent allocated to civil-society programmes combating drug abuse.

Additional measures in the bill would ban online sales, courier deliveries, home deliveries, hawking and vending-machine sales, prohibit outlets within 300 metres of learning institutions and require licensed premises to refuse entry to anyone under 21.

Penalties for contravening the amended act would rise to fines of up to KSh10 million, imprisonment of up to five years, or both, compared with the current maximum fine of KSh150,000 and one-year imprisonment for selling alcohol to persons under 18.

The amendment aligns with the government’s broader effort to curb alcohol misuse, following the July 2025 National Policy for the Prevention, Management and Control of Alcohol, Drugs and Substance Abuse and Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen’s January 2026 statement supporting a higher drinking age and restrictions on online sales.

During the debate, Dadaab MP Farah Maalim questioned why the draft did not also address miraa and muguka, suggesting that those stimulants should be regulated alongside alcohol.