Kiambu Security Team Bans Nairobians From Hosting Roadside Parties: "Wanaleta Pombe Na Anasa"

• Nairobi residents have been put on the spot over the return of park and chill parties in parts of Kiambu county
• Kiambu County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha said it was illegal to drink alcohol in undesignated spaces
• Park and Chill parties became popular during the COVID-19 lockdown when partying joints were closed down

Michael Ollinga is a journalist at TUKO.co.ke with over 10 years of experience covering courts and crimes, special reports, and current affairs in Kenya.

Nairobi party lovers have been accused of tainting the image of the neighbouring Kiambu county.

Party joints in Kiambu county

Kiambu's county security team has raised concerns that Nairobians with a penchant for partying and merry-making have gone overboard with their frequent roadside events and need to be urgently tamed.

County Commissioner Joshua Nkanatha said that the city residents who carry alcohol and arbitrarily hold parties in undesignated areas would be firmly dealt with according to the law.

The merry-makers of Nairobi are on the spot for invading tea farms and streets in Kiambu to advance their sherehe (partying) agenda without blinking.

The merrymakers of Nairobi

"They are coming here to drink beer and engage in debauchery. We have banned such activities in this county and will enforce the law," Nkanatha stated.

The parties are popularly known as Park and Chill, where young Kenyans drive to selected areas along the roads and drink, dance to music, and have a good time together.

"There is a trend that has been happening since COVID-19 lockdowns. Several young people drive from Nairobi on Sunday afternoons to Githunguri and Limuru, where they drink, play loud music, and engage in debauchery.

"For the last three weeks, we have been undertaking a crackdown. So far, we have arrested several people charged in court," Nkanatha said.

Park and Chill spots in Kiambu, Limuru

He said that the national government and the county administration had agreed to ban and eliminate the habit he termed illegal.

"We have banned that habit as the county security committee. We are working with the county to ensure that wherever alcohol is sold and taken, there is a permit. There are no permits on those roadsides and tea estates where the people drink and even come with deejays to play music for them.

He had disclosed that the crackdown against Park and Chill parties would continue, revealing that an operation order was in place to eliminate the trend.