Jubilee deputy party leader Beatrice Gambo and several Mombasa MCAs have joined calls to stop alleged harassment of mnazi vendors.
On Friday, Gambo and five MCAs joined mnazi vendors from Kisauni and Nyali sub-counties in protesting against the alleged harassment.
The vendors said they are arrested arbitrarily and forced to part with money to secure their freedom and that of their clients.
They also said their palm wine is destroyed by officers, who also confiscate their seats and other wares whenever they conduct raids, which they say are illegal.
The harassment, they allege, has increased in frequency since Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua declared war on drugs and illicit brew across the country.
“But mnazi is not illegal. Why are we being harassed? Our palm wine is always pure and there is nothing that is added to it. It is a purely natural drink,” Japhet Charo, the chair of the Mnazi Vendors Association in Nyali, sub-county said.
Nuru Chadi, the Kisauni sub-county chair of the association, said no one has ever died from drinking mnazi.
“There is also no case of anyone going blind because of mnazi. This is because it is a pure natural drink. Nothing is added to it. So, those who want to make the drink illegal should stop,” Chadi said.
Mary Chole, a vendor from Junda in Kisauni sub-county, claimed she was a week ago arrested and forced to part with Sh10,000.
Her chairs and benches, she alleges, were confiscated and have yet to be returned to her.
Gambo said in 2003, the late former Kisauni MP Karisa Maitha, known for his fight for the palm tree and wine, formulated Palm International, an organization that championed for the rights of mnazi vendors across the Coastal region.
“He appointed me as one of the directors specifically to talk to government officials about the 99 benefits of the palm tree. Mnazi is one of the benefits of the palm tree," Gambo said.
“I remember in August that year at Show Ground in Mkomani, the late told me to talk to the President and explain to him the 99 benefits of the palm tree. I remember I talked for 33 minutes.
“In December, in Rabai, together with the late Karisa Maitha, President Mwai Kibaki declared that mnazi is legal.”
She added:
“If the crown is the same, if the oath is the same, how come today it is being changed and mnazi is being said to be illegal?”
Bamburi MCA Patrick Mbelle said on July 24, 2002, the late Karisa Maitha tabled a bill in Parliament to legalize mnazi and it was passed.
In 2010, Parliament passed the Alcoholic Drinks and Control Act which regulated the time that alcohol should be sold, Mbelle said.
The Act says alcohol should be sold between 5pm and 11pm on weekdays and between 2pm and 11pm on weekends.
“Unless there is another law that was passed in the streets that says otherwise,” the Bamburi MCA said.
He noted it is unfair for mnazi vendors to be harassed.
Junda MCA Sylvester Kai said his people have been harassed so many times that he has severed relationships with officers.
The administration officers, however, at the meeting said they have no problem with mnazi, acknowledging that it is a legal drink.
Frere Town assistant chief Hillaria Farah said the meeting was called to find a solution.
“I know there has been some wrong done somewhere. But we are here to find solutions. We have no problem with mnazi as a drink. We acknowledge it is not illegal. We have a problem with the time it is sold,” Farah said.
She said some mnazi vendors sell the drink outside the stipulated times, while others sell chang’aa alongside mnazi.
“That is our biggest problem. You mix the drinks. When we find you selling mnazi and chang’aa at the same time, we will pour both drinks,” Farah declared.
Ziwa la Ng’ombe chief Bernard Omollo said no one in Ziwa la Ng’ombe has had their mnazi poured out.
“Unless you sell mnazi and chang’aa at the same time,” Omollo said.
He said some mnazi dens open as early as 8am and sell the drink the whole day, attracting youth who then fail to go to work.
“We cannot be a drinking nation. Let the youth go to work and come and drink after working hours,” he said.
The vendors called on the MCAs to establish a county law that could extend the hours for drinking.
However, the MCAs said the national law supersedes the county law.
The MCAs said they will push their MPs to work out a bill to review the law to extend the alcohol selling hours.
Frere Town chief Twalib Dola said they should all work together and weed out those who sell drinks other than mnazi in the dens.