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Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has vowed to heighten the fight against illicit brew in the country.

The former Mathira Member of Parliament has been at the forefront of combating alcohol and drug abuse, especially in central Kenya.

On Sunday, March 24, 2024, Gachagua was at the Catholic Church in Muthithi Parish in Kigumo Constituency, Murang’a County, before he visited a family that lost members to alcohol.

“The devastating and sad stories of the impact of illicit brews, drugs, and substance abuse, particularly on families, are catastrophic.

“The story of 85-year-old Mama Grace Wahu, a widow, should prick the conscience of merchants of death, who package poison in the name of cheap alcohol and sell it to our youth.

“This afternoon, I visited the home of the grandmother at Kongoini village in Kiharu, Murang’a County, and listened to her tearjerking story,” Gachagua said in a statement on X.

To Gachagua, the fact that a family can lose such a number of family members to alcohol should be considered a national shame.

“A mother of 11 lost her seven sons to the killer illicit liquor. The deep pain of burying her children as a result of this vice is a national shame. Mama Wahu’s story is a clear demonstration of the danger we are facing.

“And this is the sad story almost everywhere, only that people are not giving personal accounts,” he added.

He affirmed the government’s commitment to combating the vice and said nothing would stop them from fighting it to the end.

“The government will not relent in the fight against killer brews. The William Samoei Ruto Administration will eradicate this menace.

“It is the right and most responsible thing to do. Nothing will stand in our way,” he concluded.

Kindiki’s promise

Meanwhile, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki has also been at the forefront of combating substance abuse. The government already has a roadmap in place, which it believes will help fight the vice.

“The measures announced by the government last week on the eradication of illicit liquor and narcotic drugs are irreversible and non-negotiable. The 25-point policy and operational guidelines are not a declaration of war with businesses, enterprises, revenue collection, or science but are meant to conclusively deal with the menace of poisonous and toxic substances that are destroying lives and hurting the future of our country.

“Unlike previous operations that used economic, social, political, and commercial interests as a rationale to combat the manufacture, sale, consumption, and abuse of illicit alcohol, narcotic drugs, and other psychotropic substances, the challenge at hand is an existential national security threat, similar to terrorism, and the government will deploy all the available resources and measures to exterminate it,” Kindiki recently vowed.