Interior CS Kithure Kindiki has said some 4,800 alcoholic outlets operating within prohibited proximity to schools have been closed and their licenses revoked in the ongoing crackdown on illicit brews. https://shorturl.at/nGMRX
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00 Of course, we have had occasion also to review our ongoing program to clamp down on drugs,
00:08 alcohol and substance abuse.
00:11 And we are happy with the work going on here in Matungulu sub-county and Machakos county
00:18 in general and I think across the country because this morning we have visited a few
00:25 other counties, we have been to Tarakanithi, Embu, Kitui and later on we will be going
00:30 to Nairobi, Kadiado and so forth and so on.
00:35 And our experience so far is that the national campaign to rid our country from drugs and
00:44 substance abuse and illicit alcohol is progressing well.
00:48 I commend all the teams and here in Machakos I commend the county security and intelligence
00:54 team.
00:55 Here in Matungulu I commend the sub-county security and intelligence team of Matungulu
01:02 for a good job in that front.
01:05 Across the country we have been able to shut down and destroy 12 distilleries that were
01:13 operating outside the law and that were manufacturing dangerous drinks across the country.
01:21 Twelve illegal and illegally operating distilleries have been shut down and their capacity to
01:29 produce has been disabled.
01:33 Across the country also in the 47 counties so far since this operation began on 7th of
01:39 March this year we have been able also to shut down 4,800 premises that have been selling
01:55 alcohol.
01:57 They had been licensed by the various county governments but the licenses have been revoked
02:05 because those premises were operating within the prohibited proximity to basic learning
02:15 institutions.
02:16 As you are aware the Alcoholic Drink Control Act prohibits your selling of alcohol whether
02:27 licensed or not within 300 meters to a basic learning institution.
02:34 So we have been very keen and enforced that law and we have shut down 4,800 establishments
02:43 across the 47 counties for violating the proximity rule to save our children the menace of influence
02:55 and exposure into alcohol and other substances at an early age.
03:02 We are doing this for the country, we are not doing it for any other reason.
03:06 And going forward no license of whatever type will have any validity in the territory of
03:13 Kenya if it is within 300 meters to a basic learning institution and that includes private
03:24 and public schools alike.
03:29 Also across the country we have been able to shut down over 9,000 facilities or premises
03:44 that were operating without any form of license.
03:51 We are not going to allow those premises to resume that illegal activity.
03:57 The crackdown and the enforcement measure program continues.
04:04 I have said we have a 25 point plan to deal with this problem nationally and these are
04:12 just some of the measures we are taking.
04:15 We have shut down nearly 300 illegally operating chemists because we also discovered part of
04:27 the drug problem is drugs that are prescription drugs which are being used in the drug industry
04:37 but they are being dispensed in chemists outside the law or even by chemists which are operating
04:46 outside the law.
04:48 With the support of the Poisons Board, the Pharmacy and Poisons Board, we have been able
04:56 to shut down approximately 400 such premises.
05:01 We have also shut down 290 agrovets because we also discovered that some of the animal
05:13 or veterinary drugs are being sold and mixed with other substances to be able to produce
05:24 some of the most fatal narcotic drugs.
05:30 So again we are cracking down on agrovets that are operating outside the law and which
05:35 obviously, if they are outside the law, chances are that they could be used to perpetuate
05:43 the drug problem across the country.
05:45 Thank you.
05:46 [END]