The Ministry of Interior and National Administration has responded following claims by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that the government is relenting on its war against illicit alcohol.
Gachagua on Sunday, December 22 accused the current regime of slowing down in the fight against illicit brewing in the Mount Kenya region and other parts of the country.
The former Mathira MP while speaking during a church service in Naivasha, Nakuru County, on Sunday, claimed that the war against illicit brewing, which he fought vehemently, had lost momentum after he was hounded out of office.
Gachagua argued that the war against illicit liquor and drug abuse had begun to bear fruits when he was at the forefront of the fight.
He argued that the region’s population was now under threat from alcohol and drug abuse, accusing the government of allowing illicit liquor to be produced and sold freely, especially in Mount Kenya.
However, the Ministry of Interior in a statement on December 23 called out Gachagua for his statement, highlighting it as a politically motivated inflammatory statement.
PS Omollo responds to Gachagua
Internal Security Principal Secretary Omollo in the statement argued that the government does not produce, distribute nor retail any alcoholic drinks, adding that insinuating that any executive can direct the sale of any alcohol, whether poisonous or not is mischievous and misconceived and would amount to illegality.
Also Read: Govt Issues Statement on Deaths After Gachagua Claims
PS Omollo said that the government officials involved in the fight against illicit alcohol in every corner of this country include chiefs and their assistants who are part of their communities, adding that it is inconceivable that they would preside over what Gachagua accuses them of.
“The State Department of Internal Security and National Administration wishes to condemn the reckless statements made by the impeached former Deputy President Mr. Rigathi Gachagua in a church service he attended yesterday accusing the government of deliberately targeting citizens of Kenya in Mt. Kenya region with illicit and counterfeit alcohol distribution,” he said.
“While it is clear for every citizen to see that this is a selfish politically motivated inflammatory statement, it is also obvious that the government does not produce, distribute nor retail any alcoholic drinks. Insinuating that any executive can direct the sale of any alcohol, whether poisonous or not is mischievous and misconceived and would amount to illegality.”
Govt highlights major achievements
The PS highlighted that the problem of substance misuse affects people from all walks of life, including parents, children, spouses, further saying that it announced a 25-point enforcement program for suppression of the manufacture, sale, distribution and consumption of illicit alcohol, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the Country in March 2024.
According to the Omollo, all the 29 active manufacturers and distillers of second-generation alcohol were vetted by a multi-agency team and only two were found to be fully compliant.
“The government further conducted a comprehensive re-vetting exercise involving twenty-two (22) out of the twenty-seven (27) dealers that had failed the earlier test and proceeded to license 13 more alcohol manufacturers and distillers,” the statement adds.
Former DP Urged to record official statement
PS Omollo in the statement welcomed Gachagua to make official complaints and present the evidence he may hold to investigative or enforcement officers.
Also Read: Gachagua Credits War on Illicit Brews for Men Siring More Children
The former DP had on Sunday regretted that alcoholism started creeping back into the Mt Kenya regions when his troubles in government began.
He said that the gains of his war against illicit brews were slowly being reversed, citing the death of three people from illicit liquor in Bahati, Nakuru County, on Saturday.
“When I was in office, I led a sustained fight against illicit liquor and drug abuse and our children had started growing well. But since the time they started fighting me and finally hounded me out of office, alcoholism is back and it has started killing our children,” said Gachagua.
“I want to ask government officials not to let our boys fail to grow into real men. Our boys are in danger, our seed carriers.”
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