Beer bottle protest looms

Council of County Bar Owners Association will seek redress in court if the war on engraving of 500ml Euro beer bottles is not addressed soon.

The bar owners asked the two companies East Africa Brewery and Keroche Industries to cease the fight and allow them do business in peace.

“The engraving of universal bottles has resulted to unnecessary problems. Once collected from the market our vehicles are stopped, searched and the engraved bottles seized by police officers claiming they belong to one brewer or the other,” said Boniface Gachoka of Nakuru.

They claim Bar owners are charged with counterfeit and sell of unaccustomed goods while the manufacturers, who are engaged in the corporate fight to control the market share, are not charged.

“This criminalizes the way they do business. We have lost crucial hours for distributors, bar owners and workers, some in police custody and our vehicles detained. ‘Once you buy goods, they belong to you. Why would their fights lead to arrest of our people?” asked Richard Kagiri of Kiambu.

‘We as Bar owners have resolved to call for a boycott against any manufacturer who wants to cause confusion in the market,” said Kagiri.