By: Joseph Mutua Ndonga
Worth Noting:
- The DP vowed: This must now come to an end. We will not allow our youth to access or continue taking this poison.
- A time to say enough is enough is now. We will ensure all brewing points and the dens where this stuff was sold are dismantled and closed permanently. Turning to the local MPs and other politicians present, he told them.
- To eradicate the menace, all of us must speak in one voice and play a leading role in this war. Therefore, I urge you to work closely with the county administrators.
- Complaints have been lodged that the local chiefs and police, who are supposed to play a central role, were colluding with the brewers and looking the other way after receiving bribes.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has announced that he will personally lead the war against illicit alcohol and drugs/substance abuse in Mount Kenya region and other parts of the country.
Speaking in Nyeri during a stakeholders’ consultative meeting, the DP said that he had the full blessings of President William Ruto.
He enumerated the heart-breaking stories of how the lives of tens of thousands of people from the region particularly the youth have been wasted, ruined and destroyed.
The statistic shows the consumption of the illicit brew is the leading cause of the deaths recorded so far.
In every village, hardly a week passes without a victim being buried.
Besides, menace stands out as a major threat inhibiting the growth of economy in our region.
The menace also posed a serious threat to the creation of the families.
The study showed the excessive partaking of drugs and alcohol destroys vital organs of the body.
This includes the sexual organs. Most of them become zombies which mean they cannot sire babies.
The DP vowed: This must now come to an end. We will not allow our youth to access or continue taking this poison.
A time to say enough is enough is now. We will ensure all brewing points and the dens where this stuff was sold are dismantled and closed permanently.
Turning to the local MPs and other politicians present, he told them.
To eradicate the menace, all of us must speak in one voice and play a leading role in this war.
Therefore, I urge you to work closely with the county administrators.
Complaints have been lodged that the local chiefs and police, who are supposed to play a central role, were colluding with the brewers and looking the other way after receiving bribes.
From now henceforth, it will no longer be business as usual.
If you fail to fight this menace in your locality, we shall take immediate action. He spoke as Interior CS Kithure Kindiki and IGP Japheth Koome nodded in agreement.
Notably, this is not the first time we have had leaders talking tough about eradicating this menace once for all.
We saw similar interventions being rolled out during the reigns of President Mwai Kibaki and his successor, President Uhuru Kenyatta.
At the time, we lost some so many youths. Some who survived become permanently blind.
So, I have two questions to honorable Gachagua. How would you make a difference? Do you plan to use a new approach and strategy?
If yes, I’m sure you have formulated the concept.
Having hailed from Mathioya in Muranga County, I know the menace of alcoholism and substance abuse is real.
Sometimes back I lost my aunt’s elder son. He was a heavy drinker of the stuff. His lifeless body was found lying outside the drinking den in Mioro village.
Therefore, I wish the DP all the best. If we lose the current generation, we will not have another generation. So as you stated, this is not a joking matter.
I’m happy to note the DP said he will take this battle to other parts of the country.
This demonstrated that he fully understand his role. He is not the deputy President of the Mount Kenya region. Rather, he is the second-in-command of the Republic of Kenya.
He announced that he will preside over leaders’ consultative meetings on other affected counties, starting with Mombasa, Nakuru and Kakamega.
As I conclude, my unsolicited advise to DP is.
Besides dismantling the dens ‘permanently’, there is need to do a holistic review of the laws governing the licensing of pubs and bars operating legally.
This is because reports have indicated some of them were being run by unscrupulous and greedy traders. As such, they allowed these brews to be sneaked and sell them them thereby minting millions of shillings.
The law must be amended to ensure punitive legal measures are taken against these traders and other players involved in brewing, packaging, supplying and selling the killer brews.
The DP cannot win this battle alone. So, I was delighted when he stated. President William Ruto fully supports this campaign.
He had spoken with him severally times about this matter including that very morning when he was traveling to Nyeri for the first consultative meeting.
Joseph Mutua Ndonga is a writer and political analyst based in Nairobi
