Inside Gachagua’s 5pm–11pm drinking plan for Kenya & why he wept in Embu

Former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has outlined his plans to save Kenya from sinking deeper into what he referred to as a drinking nation.

The Democracy for the Citizens Party leader unpacked his concerns with alcoholism in the country while engaging Kenyans in the diaspora on Friday, September 25, 2026.

Gachagua noted that alcoholism has reached concerning levels and is crippling productivity, hence the need for radical steps to be taken to get the country back on the right path.

He prescribed sweeping reforms which he promised to roll out should he win presidential elections in 2027.

Should Gachagua win the presidency and have his way, people would only be allowed to drink between 5 pm and 11 pm as part of his solution to what he described as a problem of people drinking all day.

The operational hours of bars would also be reduced to six hours a day, with the entertainment spots opening at 5 pm and closing at 11 pm.

“We will regulate drinking hours. How can we have a country where people are drinking all day? Kenya has become a drinking nation. When I take over, bars will only be allowed to operate from 5:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m,” Gachagua stated.

Reflecting on the problem of alcohol in Mount Kenya region where he hails from, the DCP leader stated if he ascends the highest seat in the land, a total of 55 bars which he accused of selling illicit alcohol to the youth in the region would be closed, along with others engaging in the same.

He cited recent incidents in Lari, Kimende, and Kiambu County where several people died after consuming illicit alcohol as a clear demonstration of severity of the situation in the region.

“The situation currently in Mt Kenya is worrying,” he added, noting that the gains made under his tenure as the deputy president have all been lost with illicit alcohol flooding the region, with the youth trapped in alcoholism.

Gachagua recounted how he broke down and wept in his car during a recent engagement in Embu where half of the crowd that he went to address was already drunk by 10 am.

The DCP leaders who was in Embu to address the residents said that he was so concerned about the situation that he had to retreat back to his car where he wept in sorrow.

He bitterly lamented that powerful figures in the country are doing nothing to save the country’s youth from the yoke of alcoholism, with cheap liquor flooding the region and leaving a trail of broken homes, shattered dreams and deaths in its wake.

He painted a worrying picture of how alcohol has replaced work, leading to low productivity as people drink all day, including when they should be working.

Gachagua contrasted this with the past, when people would drink after work and on weekends, with the remaining time used to engage in building the nation.