Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen being received after arriving to preside over the destruction of Sh8.2 billion worth of methamphetamine at the Bamburi Cement Factory in Mombasa on September 24, 2026/ HANDOUTThe state has arrested 3,331 people and seized 675,505 litres of illicit alcohol following a January directive by President William Ruto to intensify the fight against illicit alcohol and substance abuse, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen has said.
Murkomen was speaking during the destruction of methamphetamine in Bamburi, where he said 385,875 litres of the seized alcohol had already been destroyed.
“Since that Presidential Directive, our multi-agency crackdown has netted 3,331 persons in connection with manufacturing, distribution, retailing and consumption of illicit alcohol and seized 675,505 litres of illicit alcohol, of which 385,875 litres have already been destroyed,” Murkomen said.
He said the government would now move beyond confiscating illegal alcohol and drugs to targeting assets and infrastructure allegedly used to facilitate the trade.
“All assets used in or acquired through drug trafficking and the illicit alcohol trade will be treated as proceeds of crime, promptly frozen and forfeited to the State,” he said.
Murkomen said President Ruto had directed that assets recovered from drug trafficking and illicit alcohol networks be redirected towards rehabilitation, prevention and treatment programmes.
“We are not just taking drugs off the street. We are taking the profits off the pockets of criminals and putting them to work for the benefit of the very communities they have harmed,” he said.
The CS said the government would target premises where illicit alcohol is allegedly stored, as well as land and factories allegedly used in the production or storage of illegal substances.
“If we find you storing illicit alcohol, we will not just take the illicit alcohol, but we will commence the process of taking the premises,” he said.
Murkomen cited a factory in Kajago that he said was allegedly being used to store or produce methamphetamine, saying the government should target both the factory and the land where such operations allegedly take place.
“That is the only way we will make this crime very punitive and very painful for the criminals who are going to benefit from it,” he said.
Murkomen said the government was also expanding measures to support people affected by substance abuse.
He said President Ruto had in January directed that rehabilitation centres be established in all 47 counties in partnership with county governments and the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA).
He said the Social Health Authority would also expand treatment cover for people struggling with substance abuse.
“The government's message is clear. We will hunt down traffickers, but we will not abandon the victims of drugs,” Murkomen said.
He said the government was pursuing a “whole-of-government, whole-of-society approach” that combines enforcement with rehabilitation and treatment.
Murkomen also warned government officials against allegedly colluding with drug traffickers and illicit alcohol networks, saying those found facilitating the trade would face dismissal and prosecution.
“Any government official found colluding with drug traffickers or illicit alcohol networks will be dismissed from service and prosecuted to the full extent of the law,” he said.
