Grassroot administrators charged with the responsibility of fighting against the distilling of illicit brews have lauded a decision by a Kisii court to impose a fine of between Sh200,000 and Sh400,000 to chang’aa distillers.
Rigoma Chief George Maina said that the fine would help in the fight against illicit brewing in his area.
Mr Maina said it had become elusive to deter notorious brewers from the practice since most of them paid the petty fines of Sh1,000 imposed on them after pleading guilty to the offence.
“The court has set a good precedent by imposing such heavy fines. This sends a serious warning to the notorious brewers who have been making the work of chiefs very difficult,” he added.
Maina lamented that some brewers conducted the illicit brewing with impunity knowing that they would secure their freedom cheaply.
He added that the hefty fines were a display of justice to notorious illicit brewers which area chief and their assistants have lauded.
This comes barely a day after Ms Zipporah Osano, Janet Obiri and George Morara who appeared before Kisii Principal Magistrate, Stella Abuya were slapped with the hefty fines for distilling chang’aa without a licence.