Government officials found aiding the production, distribution or sale of illicit and harmful alcoholic drinks will face the full force of the law, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki has warned.
Kindiki directed security and regulatory agencies leading the crackdown to enforce the law without fear or favour, warning officers against compromising the fight against illicit brews.
“Enforcement agencies have been directed to be ruthless and any official of the Government of Kenya taking part in enforcement who compromises or allows sale or distribution of these dangerous products will face the consequences of the law,” the DP said.
Kindiki spoke Wednesday at his Karen residence in Nairobi, where he chaired a follow-up meeting bringing together representatives of security agencies and heads of regulatory and enforcement bodies to assess progress in implementing measures to curb the production and distribution of illicit alcohol.
He commended officers for the work done so far but directed them to scale up enforcement across the country following the formation of a multi-agency team tasked with intensifying the crackdown.
“There has been ongoing work, but we want to scale it up. I commend the law enforcement and the regulatory agencies for the efforts they have made so far in the multi-agency format since the President ordered for the tightening of the responses to this menace,” he said.
The DP said he would chair a high-level multi-sectoral team every two weeks to monitor the crackdown and assess emerging challenges.
The team brings together security and regulatory agencies as well as industry and community representatives. It will also focus on identifying criminal networks involved in the illicit alcohol trade and supporting the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts.
Kindiki said communities must play a bigger role in the fight, particularly in providing intelligence on cartels involved in the manufacture and sale of prohibited drinks.
“Our involvement of the community has not been optimal. We are going to optimise that involvement going forward,” he said.
He directed enforcement and regulatory agencies to work closely with communities at the local level to strengthen intelligence gathering and help identify people violating the law.
“This is to assist the public in identifying culprits who violate the law and who are endangering public safety and putting the lives of the people of Kenya at risk,” he said.
The government is also finalising new legislative measures to tighten controls on the importation and sale of ethanol, which can be diverted for use in the manufacture of illicit alcohol.
Kindiki said authorities would target individuals involved in illegal importation or diversion of industrial ethanol for unauthorised purposes.
“It has come out clearly that sale of ethanol is one of the areas we need to enhance control and also take action on people involved in illegal importation or diverting industrial ethanol for other uses,” he said.
The DP also warned politicians against interfering with the crackdown, saying the government would not allow the campaign to be politicised.
“In the past, this noble exercise has been politicized. This time round, we will not have anything of that nature because we will keep politics out of this. This is a national security and economic welfare issue,” he said.
