Special unit formed to fight drug, alcohol menace

The government has established a special unit to lead the fight against illicit alcohol, drugs, and adulterated ethanol.

Addressing a media briefing ahead of the Jukwaa la Usalama forum in Nyeri County, Interior and National Administration Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the formation of a national multi-agency team that will conduct sting operations throughout the country

The CS pledged that the government would maintain its raids until the issue is eradicated nationwide, warning those operating with illegal or counterfeit licenses.

“We have agreed at the security meeting with the IG and the CEO NACADA that we are going to establish a special multi-agency team that will include KEBS, KRA among other agencies to work together to ensure compliance,” Murkomen stated.

He explained that the team would be coordinated from Nairobi and would have the capacity to support regional and county security teams.

“Where we feel the need to reinforce, the national team will be called in to support this issue of alcohol in our country,” he added.

Murkomen further revealed that a manhunt for suspected business moguls operating without legitimate licenses has intensified in Nyeri County, a transit hub exploited by drug traffickers.

“Cannabis sativa remains a major challenge across the country. Nyeri is a transit route for Ethiopia, Marsabit, Isiolo and Busia. Some of these drugs are left in Nyeri. There are also some that are planted in Mt Kenya and we have agreed to work in a multi-agency approach on how best to deal with the people trading in this business inside the forest,” he said.

The CS linked drug abuse to mental health issues, suicides, and instances of sexual and gender-based violence, warning that the crackdown would persist until the trade is dismantled.

Although Nyeri ranks 41st in alcohol and drug proliferation, with comparatively lower cases than other counties, Murkomen noted that the high public vigilance in the Central region makes the issue appear more prominent.

“If you hear the feedback from the central region, you might think there is a crisis, but the reason it is pronounced here is citizens’ high level of consciousness,” he explained.

The CS identified Western, Nyanza, Nairobi, and surrounding areas as more heavily affected, promising to extend strategies from the Central region to other hotspots.

He also disclosed that five major smugglers of adulterated ethanol are responsible for much of the problem, noting that one individual was arrested in Laikipia during a sting operation conducted by a Nairobi-based team in collaboration with local security officers.

“These particular people, for some reason, find Laikipia county as a safe haven for their operations. We have a plan,” said Murkomen.