A story is told of Kenya's founding father Mzee Jomo Kenyatta, a man who is considered one of the greatest politicians of all time.
Kenyatta was known to be a great fan of beer and he had issues with his memory, probably due to his advanced age.
Consequently, the Head of State would a number of times forget to clear his bill after gulping down bottles of the liquor at the Parliament bar.
This placed an additional responsibility on the shoulders of Parliament Speaker Humfrey Slade who had to deal with the issue of reminding the president that he had pending bills.
At some point, at a time when a bottle of Pilsner cost only Sh1.65, Kenyatta had a debt of Sh1,597.30 after months of drinking and not playing his part by paying up.
This was revealed in a letter sent to him by Mr Slade on February 19, 1964, where he was required to pay up the bill which the speaker termed a 'large account'.
“You may not be aware that your Catering Account here now stands at Sh1,597.30, no payment having been made for some months past…. I should be very grateful if you could make a payment on account, as our reserves are not sufficient to carry large accounts outstanding for long," read the letter.
Kenyatta's love for liquor did not end at the bottled drink, as he also enjoyed drinking the traditional Muratina brew.
This was the reason behind his numerous trips to the Kioi's Bar in Kasarani, where he at times ordered that some drink be packed for him as takeaway.