Kenya Breweries warns politicians not to use its products for campaigns; 14.04.2017

By PATRICK LANG'AT
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A man reads campaign posters in Eldoret. Kenya Breweries has warned politicians against using its brands as campaign tools. PHOTO | JARED NYATAYA | MEDIA GROUP 

Summary

• There have been cases where some aspirants have placed their pictures on bottles of beer.
• The images are then circulated on social media pages, mostly through WhatsApp and Facebook.

Beer maker Kenya Breweries Limited has warned politicians against using its brands as campaign tools as the elections frenzy goes a notch higher.

The company described as trademark infringement the moves by some unnamed politicians to “associate” themselves with its brands ahead of the August elections.

“We have noted that some aspiring leaders have chosen to associate their campaigns with our brands.

"However, we would like to clarify that Kenya Breweries Limited (KBL) has a policy of non-alignment with any political party or ideology,” the company said in a statement sent to newsrooms.

Some aspirants have been known to place their pictures on bottles of beer manufactured by the company and circulating images of them on social media pages, mostly through WhatsApp and Facebook.

“Further, we would like to inform the public that we do not condone any association of our brands with any political message, individual or political party,” the company said.

The warning by the beer company comes at a time when politicians in Kenya are clinging on to all forms of endorsements and brand alignments in the high-stakes nominations that have just started and an even more competitive general election in August.

“We urge all candidates and other persons to desist from this act of trademark infringement of our brands,” the beer maker said in the statement.