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Alcoblow trader says his business is legitimate


The man who has been on the police trail for selling breathalyzers has said that he does not fear the police because he is not doing anything wrong.

In fact, Fidel Ining’ining’i is suggesting the government should make it mandatory for every driver to own the gadget if accidents resulting from drunken driving are to be reduced.

“I stand tall. I am a free man doing the right thing and I have nothing to fear. I will not stop selling this gadget because it was approved by the Kenya Bureau of Standards,” he said.

To prove his confidence, he says, he will keep driving his cars which are branded with advertisements about the product.

“I have been driving in town using these vehicles since I started the business. Illegal businesses are not done in that way,” he says.

Apart from individuals, Mr Ining’ining’i said he had sold the gadgets to taxi and security firms who are keen in ensuring their workers are not drunk during work.

On Wednesday, Nairobi County Traffic Commandant, Edward Mwamburi said the Traffic Division was not aware of Mr Ining’ining’i’s business and that they would nub him to establish whether he has a valid certification from the Kenya Bureau of Standards.

“We suspect that he is just cashing in on the Nairobi residents who are already desperate of escaping from the police while drunk. His gadgets could be faulty, fake and ineffective,” he said.

But Mr Ining’ining’i says that he is not really selling the gadgets because he wants s people to evade from the police.

He wants people to be responsible drinkers and be able to know when they are safe to drive and at what point they should take a taxi.

“This is just a measure to ensure that Kenyans know how much alcohol they should take. If you measure the alcohol levels in your blood every time you take alcohol, you will be able to know how much alcohol you ought to take and not surpass the safe limits” he said, “that way, we will have fewer drunk drivers on the roads.”

He said the gadgets which he imports from the UK, had been tested and approved by both local and international quality assurance companies.

“The police must be serious and state exactly the reason they check alcohol levels on the roads. By their reactions, it seems they just want to exploit the drivers. They are just making money.”

“They have not thought about those people who will not pass through their roadblocks for the alcohol level checks. There are thousands of people who would wish to know their alcohol levels before driving. They don’t have to know it at the police stops,” he said.

Overall Traffic Commandant, Samuel Kimaru said as long as Mr Ining’ining’i will confirm that his business has been certified, he can sell the gadgets freely.

“Having the gadget would just be like having a blood sugar tester or a pregnancy kit at home,” he said.

By Tuesday, Mr Ining’ining’i had sold over 4,000 breathalyzers since he began the business on Thursday last week.