Gachagua takes Coastal leaders, security officers to task over drug menace

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua on Monday took the fight against drug abuse to the Coast region sending out a stark warning to the leadership over the worrying rise of the menace in the region.

During an illicit alcohol and drug eradication conference in Mombasa County, the DP put the local leaders to task over their silence on the matter.

"Why are leaders at the Coast quiet as our young population is being killed and destroyed by drugs? There is a serious crisis at the coast and the leadership is quiet. At least I have heard Nyali MP Mohammed Ali. Why are some not here?" Gachagua posed.

"This is a very important conference to discuss the very existence of our population. This is a conversation that every elected leader should be part of because it is a serious problem

Unless the leaders are telling us there is no problem. It is very worrisome and we are concerned as a government."

The DP said the Coastal counties of Kilifi, Mombasa and Kwale were leading in the region with people injecting themselves with hard drugs such as cocaine and heroin.

"While Mombasa, and the Coast Region, was mainly a transit for illegal drugs and substances, it has now become a profitable destination with a thriving market. Hard drugs including heroin and cocaine have permeated the region, with the most affected counties being Mombasa, Kwale, Kilifi and Lamu," the DP said.

Worrying numbers

Citing the worrying numbers, the DP said nationally, about 26,673 people inject themselves with heroin, cocaine and other hard drugs.

Gachagua said out of these, 89 per cent are young men.

He said the counties of Mombasa, Kwale and Kilifi are among the top five counties in the country accounting for 43 per cent of people who inject themselves with drugs.

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua during the Coast Region Conference on Ending Illicit Brews and Drug Abuse at the Mombasa ASK Show Ground, Mombasa on February 26, 2024. (Photo: DPCS)

"The hard drugs have permitted the region. Mombasa is the hub for hard drugs. State officers abetting this illegal trade have no room in the government. We are ready to send people to jail including officers allegedly stealing alcohol and selling it," he said.

The DP said drugs and substance abuse have led to an increase in crime activities and the rise of juvenile gangs in the region.

He pointed out that none of the six coastal counties has enacted a legal framework for containing illicit alcohol.

"For a stronger and sustained war, we call on a joint framework and political goodwill by all leaders. We are dealing with toxic liquor but in Coast, hard drugs are a problem to the extent that young people have become zombies. The situation has become a problem and drugs are being sold in the open. We need help to oversight our security leaders to deal with this matter," Gachagua said.

He said that on Friday, the government will announce serious steps to enhance the fight against alcohol and drug abuse.

"To our officers, we are not doing well. In Mombasa, Lamu, Kilifi…dawa zinauzwa (drugs are being sold) and the chiefs, OCS, and DCI officers know who is selling the drugs. We are not going to transfer officers who have failed, we are not going to transfer problems. We will deal with you and we will be very firm," he said.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki said his ministry considers those selling drugs, transporting and manufacturing illicit alcohol and public officials enabling the business to thrive as enemies of Kenya and as participants of organised crime.

"We place them in the same category as terrorists, extremists and bandits. It is the same harm they are doing to our country. We will go hard on all of them the same we have done on terrorism and violent extremism," Kindiki said.