Kirinyaga: Government declares war on nude dance bars, orders 2 strip clubs shut down

Kirinyaga County Commissioner Shufaa Omar has announced plans to clamp down on strip clubs operating in Kutus and Kagio towns, vowing to shut them down entirely.

Omar said a crackdown is coming for such establishments, which she claims have grown increasingly common across the county.

She pointed out two popular strip joints named Check Point and Cash Cash, stating they must be shut down.

"It is sad that in Kagio, there are people who are just waiting for darkness to set in to start dancing naked. This is very unfortunate, and I am not afraid to condemn this publicly," she said, speaking in Swahili.

She made it clear that as long as she remains county commissioner, licences for such bars simply will not be granted.

"Why allow people to dance naked in your bar? Even if it is profits, I am sure there are many different ways of earning money, not dancing naked," she said.

According to Omar, she already has intelligence pointing to two specific entertainment joints that have quietly transformed into strip clubs, allowing women to perform nude dances on their premises.

"These two bars should be closed completely. This activity will not be allowed in this county," she stated firmly.

Her remarks came during a stakeholders' meeting attended by chiefs and assistant chiefs from Gichugu, convened to discuss ways of tackling illicit and counterfeit alcohol within Kirinyaga County.

The gathering also touched on the broader question of how alcohol outlets are licensed and monitored across the region.

Speaking at the same forum, Amos Warui, Deputy Director in charge of compliance at the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), called for residents to be given a voice in future licensing decisions.

He argued that involving the community in the next licensing cycle would enable locals to provide input on how many alcohol outlets they should allow to operate within their own neighbourhoods.

Warui noted that bar and restaurant licensing remains a persistent challenge in Kirinyaga, pointing out that such outlets are currently only permitted to operate between 11am and 11pm.

"We want to save our people who are very much affected by this illicit brew. When we put all those together, we believe we are going to succeed in this fight, starting from Kirinyaga County and spreading all over the country," Warui said.