Two people have been arrested at a city club as the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) intensifies its crackdown on Shisha dens.
The two were arrested on Wednesday night after NACADA’s enforcement officers raided Paris Lounge in Lang’ata and confiscated a large consignment of shisha products.
The enforcement operation was led by NACADA’s Director of Compliance and Enforcement, James Koskei, who said the sting operation is part of routine compliance checks targeting illegal shisha trade in the city.
“NACADA is the body mandated to control alcohol and drug abuse in the country. We are here this evening on our normal routine compliance checks on this facility. We are coming here specifically to enforce the shisha rules," said Koskei.
Koskei said that the crackdown follows a court of appeal ruling that upheld Gazette Notice No. 292 of 2017, which bans the sale, promotion, and use of shisha in Kenya. The appellate court dismissed a petition challenging the ban, giving NACADA full legal backing to enforce the law.
“We all know that the shisha rules under Gazette Notice No. 292 of 2017 are in force. Our Court of Appeal in December managed to throw away the petition that had been filed against that particular Gazette Notice,” Koskei explained.
During the raid, NACADA officers seized 39 shisha bongs, 11 cartons of charcoal, 12 cartons of assorted flavours, and 13 charcoal carriers. Two individuals, a shisha seller and a supervisor, were arrested.
Shisha Ban In Kenya
On February 2, 2025, the Ministry of Health issued a reminder to citizens to the effect that the ban on Shisha smoking, which was enacted in 2017, remains fully operational.
The ban, under the Public Health (Control of Shisha Smoking) Rules, prohibits the manufacture, importation, sale and use of Shisha across the country.
Section 163 of the Public Health Act enacted in 2017 stipulates that offenders may face a fine not exceeding Sh50,000, imprisonment for a term not exceeding six months, or both.
“The Ministry of Health together with other government agencies remain committed to enforcing this ban and urges all Kenyans to comply,” MoH said in a statement.
Shisha, a flavoured tobacco smoked through a water pipe, has been linked to serious health risks, including respiratory diseases, heart conditions and exposure to toxic chemicals.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the smoke inhaled in a typical one-hour shisha smoking session is equal to inhaling smoke from as many as 100 sticks of cigarette.
Despite a legal challenge to the ban in 2018, both the High Court and the Court of Appeal upheld the prohibition.
In a recent ruling on December 23, 2024, the Court of Appeal once again affirmed the ban, with judges emphasising that public health must take precedence over commercial interests.
Back in 2017, Kenya became the fourth country in East Africa to prohibit shisha after Uganda, Tanzania and Rwanda.
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