NAIROBI, Kenya — The government is planning to raise Kenya’s legal drinking age from 18 to 21 years as part of far-reaching reforms aimed at confronting what officials say is a worsening national crisis of alcohol and drug abuse.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the proposal is among key recommendations presented to President William Ruto, alongside measures to strengthen enforcement, tighten regulations across the alcohol industry and overhaul existing laws.
Speaking on the reforms, Murkomen said the government’s first priority is reinforcing the anti-narcotics unit, which he described as critically under-resourced.
The unit currently has only 192 officers nationwide and lacks adequate vehicles, office space and modern equipment for testing, surveillance and intelligence gathering, he said.
The second pillar of the proposed reforms focuses on reviewing Kenya’s legal framework on alcohol and drug control.
Among the proposals under consideration are raising the minimum drinking age to 21, banning the online sale of alcohol, prohibiting alcohol advertising and restricting alcohol outlets near schools.
The measures follow alarming findings by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), which show that millions of Kenyans are struggling with substance use disorders.
According to Murkomen, Nacada research indicates that about 4.9 million Kenyans are addicted to one substance or another, with alcohol accounting for the largest share.
Approximately 1.3 million people are fully addicted to alcohol, while about 300,000 are addicted to cannabis.
Overall, alcohol abuse affects an estimated 3.3 million Kenyans, with nearly two million others abusing different drugs.
The Interior CS said the crisis cuts across families, communities and institutions, affecting both young people and adults, and cannot be addressed by law enforcement alone.
Nacada’s findings further show that substance use is widespread among university students, with one in every eight students having used alcohol or drugs.
President Ruto, during his New Year’s address, unveiled a broad national strategy to tackle alcohol and drug abuse, warning that the problem had reached emergency levels and posed a serious threat to Kenya’s health, security and economic future.
The President said substance abuse disproportionately affects young people and men — the country’s most productive population — and pledged decisive government action starting in 2026.
He warned that alcohol and drug abuse could no longer be treated as a marginal social issue, describing it as a “clear and present danger” to the nation’s wellbeing.
