Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has pledged a relentless campaign against major players in Kenya’s illicit alcohol and narcotics trade.

Speaking on January 12, 2026, Murkomen said the government will now target the financial lifelines of traffickers to ensure the big fish feel the impact of substantial losses.

“The big fish can only feel the pain of loss of revenue… You go for them, you arrest them, but you go for their assets,” he stated, describing a shift from traditional fines to seizing goods, property, and declaring illicit funds as proceeds of crime.

Murkomen also argued that prior approaches, such as minor fines, have been ineffective. He explained that enforcement must target the assets of offenders, not just arrests.

“Go for their assets. If you go for them alone, you know what the courts have been doing? You arrest a particular, there’s a notorious one in Eldoret, I don’t want to mention his name, Eldoret, and his environment operates all the way to Trans-Nzoia, Elgeyo Marakwet, and he’s distributing, I think he comes from my county, actually, based on the intelligence report,” he said.

“Every time he’s been arrested, he’s charged in court, and the court fined him one million. But the profit he gets, maybe in a week, is ten million. So what is one million to him?” he questioned, referring to traffickers who repeatedly evade meaningful penalties.

Targeting networks

Murkomen explained that the crackdown responds to the widespread impact of what he described as primitive accumulation of wealth, where traffickers profit from blood money at the expense of ordinary Kenyans.

He cited intelligence reports of a notorious operator distributing ethanol across the North Rift and Nandi County, highlighting that such networks thrive due to loopholes in enforcement and porous borders.

“We need to deal with our porous border. Illicit alcohol is extremely prevalent in the western part of the country. There are a number of border points that are unmanned and are porous. Part of the strategy to deal with this is establishing more multiagency vehicle checkpoints,” he said.

Murkomen added that security agencies will pursue offenders aggressively, with multi-pronged operations including checkpoints and intelligence-led interventions.

Challenges ahead

The CS emphasised that the initiative is part of a broader effort to protect youth and communities from the dangers of alcohol and drug abuse, which he sees as a major threat to national development. Experts and community leaders have welcomed the approach, noting the devastating impact of adulterated alcohol and drugs on families.

However, Murkomen acknowledged challenges remain, including corruption within enforcement agencies and the need for judicial reforms to enforce asset forfeiture effectively. He said the campaign aims not only to disrupt supply chains but also to deter future violations by making penalties economically devastating.