At the dawn of Kenya’s colonial era in 1902, consumption of homemade alcohol was deeply embedded in society. For instance, among the Mijikenda of coastal Kenya, palm wine was integral to traditional ceremonies, such as marriage and initiations, and in ritual offerings. This partly explains why the colonial authorities did not consider prohibiting African homemade liquors.
As early as 1908, however, they did prohibit Africans from consuming or handling European liquors. The prohibition was ratified on the pretext of Europe’s commitment to preserving the presumed innocence of Africans. The ban on Africans’ consumption of European liquor fostered and sustained racial “social distance” between the colonised Africans and European colonisers.
