60% of alcohol sold in Kenya is illicit - Report

Kenyans are consuming more illegal alcohol than ever before, with illicit drinks now accounting for 60 percent of all alcohol sold in the country.

This is according to a new report conducted by Euromonitor International and commissioned by the Alcoholic Beverages Association of Kenya, which revealed that consumption of unregulated alcohol has risen by 27 percent since 2022.

The shift has been driven by high taxes on legal alcoholic products, making them very expensive, availability of homemade brews, and a growing trade in counterfeit and smuggled alcohol.

Beverly Opora, Secretary of Administration, Ministry of Interior, said: “The rise we all know has negatively impacted on our nation resulting in health challenges as well as deaths and this has affected a very critical population of our nation, the youth.”

While traditional brews like chang’aa and busaa dominate by volume, the bulk of lost value comes from commercial-scale operations involving fake spirits and contraband labels.

Last year the government missed out on Ksh.120 billion in tax revenue as a result of tax leakage, smuggling of ethanol, and the prevalence of counterfeit brands.

Eric Githua, Chairperson of the Alcoholic Beverage Association of Kenya, stated: “Illicits make this country unable to attract further investments because of the level of illicits that we have. Illicits also reduce the revenues for our great republic because as you can appreciate the alcohol industry is a significant player in our country.”

The Association is now calling for tax reforms on legal alcohol and tighter regulations around ethanol, to combat the rise of illicit alcohol.

With Kenyans consuming more illicit than legal alcohol, it is clear that the underground market is fast outpacing regulation.

Tax losses are mounting, enforcement is struggling and yet illicit brews remain widely accessible.