{"id":4393,"date":"2024-02-23T10:02:58","date_gmt":"2024-02-23T10:02:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/index.php\/2024\/02\/23\/mps-blame-police-for-rise-in-illicit-alcohol-trade\/"},"modified":"2024-02-23T10:02:58","modified_gmt":"2024-02-23T10:02:58","slug":"mps-blame-police-for-rise-in-illicit-alcohol-trade","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/mps-blame-police-for-rise-in-illicit-alcohol-trade\/","title":{"rendered":"MPs blame police for rise in illicit alcohol trade"},"content":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 23 \u2014 Members of the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security have summoned Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, to explain the rise in the illicit alcohol trade<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The lawmakers blamed the police for rampant cases of illicit alcohol saying Koome must provide a comprehensive report on measures taken by the National Police Service to arrest the situation. <\/strong><\/p>\n

The demand comes in the wake of a tragic incident in Kirinyaga County\u2019s Kangai Village where 23 individuals lost their lives after consuming illicit alcohol.<\/p>\n

Kirinyaga County MP Njeri Maina initiated the call seeking a statement from the Chairperson of the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security on the devastating incident.<\/p>\n

Expressing deep concern, Maina cited a disturbing trend of fatalities resulting from the consumption of illicit and adulterated alcoholic beverages across the nation.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe most recent tragedy occurred in Kangai Village on February 6th, 2024, where 23 lives were lost, and numerous others suffered severe consequences, including loss of vision, due to the consumption of suspected expired alcohol with a dangerously high ethanol content,\u201d the statement filed on Friday read.<\/p>\n

With the condition of survivors deteriorating and fears of a rising death toll, Maina stressed the urgent need to address the root causes.<\/p>\n

Enforcement gaps <\/h2>\n

She decried the rampant trade in illicit and adulterated liquor, the proliferation of counterfeit alcoholic brands, the unchecked operation of unlicensed liquor outlets, the surge in underage drinking, and the alarming increase in deaths attributed to illicit liquor consumption.<\/p>\n

\u201cCould the Cabinet Secretary explain measures the Government has put in place to ensure strict compliance with the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, 2010, and effective implementation of alcohol control policies in regions mostly affected by consumption of illicit brews?\u201d Maina posed.<\/p>\n

Contributing to the statement, House Majority Leader Kimani Ichung\u2019wah said Parliament should enact legislation that will establish consistent regulations and standards nationwide.<\/p>\n

Ichung\u2019wah reckoned that there should also be national government legislation on alcohol manufacturer licensing, stressing that the responsibility should not rest solely with county governments.<\/p>\n

Citing the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution, which delineates functions between the national and county governments, he noted liquor licensing falls under the jurisdiction of county governments.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is not one that we can point at the county governments in terms of licensing of bars. It begins with law enforcement vide the police,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

He singled out the sale of ethanol as one of the most lucrative illicit trade terming enforcement by the police as the weak link in efforts to combat illegal alcoholic drinks.<\/p>\n

Illicit ethanol trade <\/h2>\n

Manyatta MP Gitonga Mukunji claimed police officers are deeply entrenched in the illicit ethanol trade.<\/p>\n

Mukunji called for a halt in ethanol imports to pave the way for the verification of traders and their tax compliance status.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe situation has reached a critical juncture where immediate action is imperative. We must put an end to the influx of ethanol until we can ascertain the identities of these traders and ensure they are fulfilling their tax obligations,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n

The legislator expressed concern over the alarming influence wielded by individuals who have amassed immense wealth from the ethanol trade, asserting that they have gained enough power to corrupt the entire police service hierarchy.<\/p>\n

He warned the young generation will be in danger if the National Assembly fails to act.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have to enact laws to ensure that the population of this country does not thrive on drunkenness. A drunkard is a sick individual. However, we are treating the symptoms instead of the disease,\u201d he held.<\/p>\n

Narok West MP Gabriel Tongoyo, who chairs the Departmental Committee on Administration and Internal Security, said the time is ripe to tighten laws and policies on licensing of alcohol, especially at the county level.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

NAIROBI, Kenya, Feb 23 \u2014 Members of the National Assembly Committee on Administration and Internal Security have summoned Inspector General of Police, Japhet Koome, to explain the rise in the illicit alcohol trade. The lawmakers blamed the police for rampant cases of illicit alcohol saying Koome must provide a comprehensive report on measures taken by […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4393","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","entry"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4393","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4393"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4393\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4393"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4393"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/chezaspin.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4393"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}