Nacada cracks down on shisha smoking in Nairobi clubs, arrests 25 people

The anti-drug and alcohol abuse agency on Friday led an operation targeting nightclubs selling the illegal substance shisha (hookah) in Nairobi's Kilimani area, arresting 25 people.

Anthony Omerikwa, the CEO of the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), led the operation in conjunction with the National Police Service at around 10pm.

The Yejoka Garden Restaurant on Wood Avenue was the main target of the operation, where 117 shisha substances were seized.

Omerikwa said the operation had just begun and would be extended to other parts of the country.

"This thing (shisha) has permeated our society so much. It is affecting our children. It is affecting the masses in the country and productivity," he said.

Omerikwa admitted that despite the fact that the substance is illegal, it is still widely used in the country.

"The sale is banned, the use is banned, but here we have over 100 shisha bongs ... in a residential area and it is actually causing pollution."

The CEO urged Kenyans to avoid banned substances and not to abuse those that are not banned.

"This campaign will continue. We'll make sure that we get rid of this drug that is affecting our people and the country," Omerikwa said.

The Nacada boss said the suspects had been taken into police custody and would be charged on Wednesday after the Christmas holidays.

The operation comes after the Nairobi County Health Department complained earlier this year about the emergence of clubs selling shisha and people smoking it openly.

In a letter dated January 13, the county's chief public health officer, Tom Michira Nyakaba, directed the head of the Tobacco Control Unit to liaise with relevant departments to ensure compliance as expected under the Public Health Act and relevant tobacco control laws.

In 2017, Kenya implemented a comprehensive ban on shisha, including advertising, promotion, distribution and encouraging or facilitating its use.

"Any person who contravenes any provision of these regulations may, where a penalty is not expressly provided for in any provision of the Act, be liable to the penalty provided for in section 163 of the Act," the government said when announcing the ban on December 27, 2017.