- Kiambu and Nyeri deputy governors have called for concerted efforts to eradicate illicit and counterfeit alcohol in Mt Kenya.
- Rosemary Kirika and David Kinaniri say government agencies and communities must work together to tackle the menace.
- The leaders also want youth economic empowerment strengthened to reduce vulnerability to alcohol and substance abuse.
As the fight against illicit and second-generation brews intensifies across the Mt Kenya region, leaders are rooting for concerted efforts among all stakeholders for the success of the fight.
Kiambu Deputy Governor Rosemary Kirika and her Nyeri counterpart David Kinaniri maintain that the killer brews crisis will be solved once all players join efforts.
Kirika reiterated that the brews have claimed hundreds of innocent lives, destroyed lives and broken many families in the region, adding that there is no time to relent until the illicit liquor is wiped out.
Speaking during the burial of elder David Mungai in Makwa village, Gatundu North Constituency, the two leaders said all requisite authorities, including the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), National Police Service (NPS) and National Government Administration Officers (NGAO), among others, must wake up from their slumber and work swiftly to slay the killer brews dragon.
Concerted fight
Kirika noted that the fight against chang’aa has been won, adding that the purge against counterfeit and second-generation liquor will be won as well.
“In places like Makwa village, chang’aa was a thorn in the flesh for decades but it was wiped out by multisectoral teams. The problem we are now facing is counterfeit brews that are being sold in bars. This alcohol has killed many of our children, dimmed dreams of many and destroyed families. We must unite in this fight for the sake of our children and our community,” Kirika said.
She averred that joblessness is one of the reasons many youths are indulging in illicit brew consumption and abuse, adding that deliberate efforts must be adopted by both governments and the private sector to create opportunities for the youth and save them from succumbing to the brews.
The Deputy Governor noted that, through the Rose Kirika Foundation, her team has been training and assisting local youths in beekeeping as an income-generating venture.
She noted that the project is aimed at saving the youth from sinking into alcoholism while providing them with an alternative source of income.
“I realised that our region is favourable for apiculture and I started enrolling youth into the programme. We are keeping bees and we have a ready market for bee products. This is helping our youth rely on decent income to eke a living,” she said.
Kirika noted that more youths in the region will be trained and provided with the requisite equipment to venture into apiculture.
The foundation has previously conducted beekeeping training in Gatundu North as part of efforts to provide alternative income opportunities.
Tighten liquor licensing
Similar sentiments were echoed by Kinaniri, who reiterated that the killer brews menace has now become a national concern, adding that all cartels involved in the brewing and sale of the liquor must be flushed out from their dungeons to face the full force of the law.
“Those endangering the lives of our children must face the law. The future of our children and our community is at risk if this crisis is not addressed to the letter,” he said.
Kinaniri also averred that county governments must relook at their liquor laws and tighten controls on licensing, noting that uncontrolled licensing of liquor joints has contributed to the menace.
He, at the same time, urged parents to assume their role of proper parenting and advise their children against indulgence in alcoholism, noting that they too can play a pivotal role in addressing the crisis.
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This comes as residents in villages across the region continue to raid liquor dens in the fight against the brewing, sale and consumption of outlawed liquor.
By John Kamau
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