MIGORI,Kenya, Sep, 26 – A multi-agency security team in Migori county has arrested several illicit brewers destroying hundreds of liters of their illegal concoctions amidst a nationwide operation to rid the country of the dangerous brew.
In Rongo sub-county, police set traps across various popular brewing dens scattered across various sugar plantations during a five hour operation Sunday morning.
“We had visited the first trap but the brewers apparently got word that we were hot on their trail so when we arrived there they had already fled, however we went to the next site, we found them and confiscated their illegal brew and raw materials,” said area chief Joseph Nyamanga.
In Arundo village in Rongo,the multi-agency team confiscated around 800 liters of kangara, 3 liters of chang’aa and at least 80kgs of jaggery.
The suspects are set to be arraigned Monday.
The government declareded a nationwide crackdown against illicit alcohol and other substances in the build-up to the general election.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Dr. Fred Matiang’i said the intensified campaign that will run for an initial 30 days will target the proliferation of cheap and illegal liquor whose supply and consumption tend to rise sharply towards the general elections.
Addressing Regional and County Commissioners who are expected to spearhead the crackdown in their respective jurisdictions, Dr. Matiang’i said the supply of illegal alcohol, if unchecked, posed serious public health and safety challenges to a system that is already reeling from the strain of the Covid pandemic.
“We have a serious challenge of alcohol abuse aggravated by the season of elections. Some people imagine it is time to provide cheap liquor to enable campaigns. In some cases, this trend is chronic.
“This RRI couldn’t have come at a better time. Let’s go out and wage a vicious campaign,” he said.
The CS who speaking at the Kenya School of Government in Kabete also urged national government administrators to lead by example and warned that those struggling with alcohol and substance addiction will be sacked.
“We must be candid enough to admit we have a problem from within. If you’re a drunken officer who is wobbling in public barazas, how will you implement the RRI? How can you enforce the law when you are supposed to be in a rehab centre?” he posed.
Dr. Matiang’i further cautioned Government officials against abetting the sale of counterfeit and illegal substances and warned that such officers also risked disciplinary action including sacking.
CS Matiang’i and PS Karanja Kibicho during the event. Pic/ShahidiNewsTeam
The CS faulted county governments‟ liquor licensing policies saying there was a strong link between their hunger for more revenue from alcohol outlets and the proliferation of trade and consumption of illicit substances.
Speaking at the same function, Interior PS Dr. Karanja Kibicho said the government will put a stop to the cyclic nature of deaths from consumption of illicit alcohol witnessed during the election season by dedicating enough resources to counter the menace.
“Around 30,000 Kenyans died from illegal alcohol or got blind around the last two general elections. This year, we have already lost some Kenyans to illicit alcohol in Nakuru. We will support this initiative with all it takes because we are already seeing attempts to make cheap liquor available,” Dr. Kibicho said.
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