Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has given County Commissioners ten days to shut down all illegal alcohol establishments, failure to which they would get fired without pay.

Speaking at the 3rd regional stakeholders engagement on the fight against trade, use, abuse, and consumption of illicit alcohol, narcotics, and other psychotropic substances at Kirubia Stadium, Tharaka Nithi County, Gachagua told the County Commissioners and Police Station Commanders to not only shut the illegal establishments, but also take the owners to court.

“All the illegal establishments, within the 10 days, you must not only shut them down, but take those people to court.

“And if we find one in your area of jurisdiction, ‘aki ya Mungu utaenda nyumbani’ (loosely translated to, ‘you will go home’). We have been told there are 2,800 illegal establishments and you must close them and take those people to court.

“Mkikula hongo ziendelee, hiyo hongo ndio utakula hadi ile siku utakufa (If you take bribes, that is the amount you will survive on until you die). There will be no other income from the government, Gachagua said.

During his address, the Deputy President told the government security agents to handle the illicit alcohol establishments and leave the registered ones to him. “It is your work to shut down illegal alcohol establishments and deal with those selling bhang because there is no establishment licensed to sell bhang.

“For the registered establishments, leave them to me, Kenya Revenue Authority, Kenya Bureau of Standards and National Police Service. We will handle them at a higher level,” Gachagua added.

Gachagua to governors

Gachagua also called out Governors for ‘licensecing everyone to be a bar and restaurant’ in an effort to collect more revenue. ” You have licensed everyone to be a bar and restaurant. The only restaurant that we acknowledge is like the hotel I am sleeping in, which has about 40 rooms, equipped with everything including food and some alcoholic drinks to help you get some sleep, which is okay.

“You governors have gone to shopping centres, where there are 10 establishments, one is a shop, another one is a small hotel. Eight of them are bar and restaurants. For them to qualify as restaurants, there are muturas (African sausage) and smokies outside the establishment. And you decide that is a bar and restaurant, he said.

The DP claimed that the governors have failed the government by licensing the said bar and restaurants, adding that devolution had led to the said issue.

“The truth of the matter is that this problem was compounded by the advent of devolution. When governors came in search of revenue.., once you pay the receipt, you were given that as a license,” Gachagua expressed.

In his speech, Gachagua pleaded with the governors to do ‘what is right’ by working with the County Commissioners, Police Commander and National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), to review the licenses ‘as it is being done by the national government.

“I want to thank Irungu Kang’ata, Muranga County Governor. He made a bold decision. He has shut down 1800 establishments and now they are fighting him politically”, Rigathi said.

He further made a light moment by hilariously claiming that the ‘1800 people that are against Kang’ata for the shutdown, already lost their Identification Cards and are always drunk on the election days.’

“Let political leaders not fear this exercise. These people drink alcohol and sleep in trenches, they lost their ID cards and are always drunk on the election days, so we don’t need them.

“Uhuru Kenyatta told Members of Parliament to go pour out illicit brew, which is not their work. We are not going to do that. We only need the MPs to oversight and let the security officers do their work,” Gachagua claimed.

Sin tax

In addition, Gachagua requested governors to give the revenue collected from alcohol joints, to NACADA to be used to establish rehabilitation centers. “The sin tax you collect, let it go to deal with sin. Let us assist the advocacy and build rehabilitation centers in every county, to help those who need help.

“There is no need of using the money to build roads or mortuaries where you will keep those people once they die of taking alcohol,” Gachagua said.

“They have come up with proposals that will have heavy penalties to make this business unattractive. They have proposed inounding of all vehicles carrying illegal substances and forfeit them to the county.

“They have come up with proposals to shut down forever any establishments selling illicit alcohol and drugs. Very punitive proposals and that is what will sort out this country,” he said.