“The prohibition against the operation of bars, and the sale of alcoholic drinks by ordinary restaurants and eateries shall stand vacated from the September 29. Mnaweza kukunywa pombe sasa (you can now drink).”
That was the announcement, which bar owners as well as attendants in the country have been waiting to hear from President Uhuru Kenyatta for the past six months.
A good number of bar, wines, and spirits shop owners and bar attendants had been depending on the sale of these products to make ends meet and the shutdown announced by the government left them stranded.
After months of staring at the TV whenever Uhuru makes his national addresses anticipating good news, the sector’s players now have their prayers answered.
The announcement however came too late and the damage had already been done to a good number of people in the sector.
Entertainment and bars were closed on March 23, with the aim of curbing the spread of the virus.
The sector was not spared by the hard economy that saw hundreds of Kenyans losing their jobs as companies tried to survive amid the pandemic by cutting down staff while others had to completely shut down.
In July, the president issued firm warnings to entertainment joints and lounges which had been operating despite the closure order.
A section of bar owners in Nakuru and Nairobi attended church service over the weekend, asking God to intervene and salvage their businesses.
The owners, under Bars, Hotels, and Liquor Traders Association of Kenya congregated in Nakuru ahead of Uhuru’s address.
Mary Wanjiru, a bar attendant received the news of reopening the bars with a lot of excitement.
Wanjiru said she only had a glimmer of hope that one day, the president will remember bar owners.
She lost her job in May, which used to earn her cross to Sh25,000 per month.
The bar attendant said that life has never been the same since the closure of bars, forcing her to source for other means to make ends meet for her three children who are of school-going age.
The 30-year-old lady said that she will have to go to her former employer following the announcement from the president to find out if plans are in place to rehire staff.
Wanjiru said that life has never been the same for her, and she is ready to go back to her initial job even after securing another job as a waitress.
When bars were closed, Richard Ochieng (not his real name) closed his bar located in Dagoretti South.
The owner of the building which Ochieng’s bar sits on expected rent at the end of every month from him, and would hardly give an ear to “bla bla bla excuses”.
In the first-two months, Ochieng used his little savings to pay the rent as well as meeting his family needs.
He had to turn the club into a carpentry workshop, which was somehow an advantage to him due to the proximity to the market and the main road.
He admits that the new venture was not productive enough compared to operating the bar.
The initial easing of rules, allowing takeaway alcohol was a relief to Ochieng’s business but he continued with the carpentry work.
Ochieng had created employment for three people when the business was doing well and had to fire two, remaining with one attendant.
He is however among hundreds of bar owners across the country who are celebrating the freedom that came on Monday.
In his address, Uhuru directed that bars should resume but be closed at 10 pm, an hour before the new curfew starts.
The revised dusk-dawn hours were extended to 11pm to 4am. The hours were previously 9pm-4am.
Uhuru noted that the country’s positivity rate has fallen from 13 per cent in June to seven in August and now stands at 4.4.
Uhuru also announced that church services, weddings, and funerals can have a maximum of 200 people, up from 100.
The President, however, said schools will not yet reopen until it is established it’s safe to do so.
Uhuru said for the past six months, the country has been in a season of paradoxes.
He said, as a result, it became necessary to shut in order to save it.
“As we head into a new normal, we are even faced with a greater paradox as to whether the curve is flattening or not,” he said.
Mombasa County Bar Owners Association had earlier urged the president to allow them to fully reopen their businesses.
They said that they have been out of business for four months, forcing some of their members to close down completely.
Chairman Patrick Kabundu had told the Star that they have suffered enough.
“Some of our members have suffered a mental breakdown because they were dependent on this business. Now they’re depressed,” Kabundu said.
Despite reopening the country on Monday, the president said that he will be forced to impose more measures if the cases of the virus surge.