Singular offence

A Kenyan man has been told he must pay a Sh15,000 fine or serve five months in prison for selling single cigarettes, according to a story in The Nairobi News.

The punishment was handed down by a Nyeri Court on Tuesday.

The man, Simon Gichuki Maina, appeared before resident magistrate Ruth Kefa where he pleaded guilty to selling single cigarettes.

The law states that cigarettes may be sold only in packs.

The Court heard that Maina was arrested by Nyeri police at the Kasuku bar on February 11.

Maina asked the court for leniency on the grounds that he did not know that selling single cigarettes was a crime.