Uhuru PS To Blame For Illicit Alcohol In Mt Kenya Region- Gachagua

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Monday, June 12 heaped blame on a section of retired President Uhuru Kenyatta's administration over the rampant alcoholism in the Central Kenya region.

He spoke while addressing a multi-agency engagement of the Upper Eastern Region in the fight against illicit brew at Chuka's Kirubia Stadium in Tharaka Nithi County, when he met police commanders and officers from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) as well as the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) at a convention aimed at eliminating alcoholism in the region.

According to the second in command, the enforcement of licensing laws was often a hard task under Uhuru's regime owing to a lack of resources as well as a lack of political will.

DP Rigathi Gachagua with CS Kithure Kindiki during the 3rd regional stakeholders engagement on the fight against trade, use, abuse, and consumption of illicit alcohol, narcotics, and other psychotropic substances at Tharaka Nithi County on June 12, 2023. /KITHURE KINDIKI

He alleged that Uhuru's government had underfunded and understaffed rehabilitation programmes in a manner that led to awareness campaigns being met with resistance since people were reluctant to talk about the problem of alcohol and drug abuse.

Gachagua had singled out an unnamed former Principal Secretary (PS), claiming that he was part and parcel of the propagation of illicit alcohol in the mountainous region, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic three years ago.

“The person behind this illicit alcohol in Mt Kenya is your former principal secretary, that is why you could not fight the thing. He used to deploy you to attend to other matters so you can leave him to carry out his trade,” the DP told delegates.

“During the Covid pandemic, all the bars were open so he could move his stock," he claimed.

He expressed confidence that the government would wipe out alcoholism in the country as it is led by people who do not tolerate alcohol, including himself who reformed after quitting drinking more than a decade ago.

Others in his ranks include President William Ruto, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Interior PS Raymond Omollo, whom he claimed was allergic to alcohol. 

“President William Ruto does not drink alcohol, he has no factory and no bar. Rigathi Gachagua quit alcohol 15 years ago and has no intention of going back,” he said amidst claps from the audience.

During the same address, he accused Officers Commanding Stations (OCSs) of colluding with County Commissioners to facilitate the movement of drugs within their jurisdictions, ordering them to end the menace in 10 days or quit their positions.

He directed the officers to choose between serving the people and obeying Executive commands or taking bribes from alcohol and substance peddlers and risking losing their jobs.

"We will work on a joint strategy together to end illicit brew and substance abuse in Tharaka Nithi, Meru, Marsabit, Embu, and Isiolo Counties. We remain firm in our resolve to make our youth useful in Nation building again," Gachagua stated, threatening to fire any OCS who will be caught in the act.

The Deputy President further alleged that some of the corrupt county commissioners and OCSs were threatening junior officers while enforcing their mandate to rid the region of alcohol and drug abuse.

"After serving for more than 15 years in the Service, I came to a logical conclusion that everything within the security sector is established at the officers of County Commissioners and the Officers Commanding Stations," Gachagua stated.

The DP, therefore, gave the officers a June 22, 2023, deadline to weed out alcohol and drug abuse within the areas they controlled, after which they would be subjected to consequences.

"Failure to which, you have to go home and tell your children that you are unable to do the work that you're trained to do. We need to do this before the Finance Budget 2023 is signed into law so that we may know the number of public servants that we have on payroll," Gachagua warned.