Gambling madness returns big time in South Rift

When Bomet township location chief Reuben Ngetich and Nyumba Kumi security committee members mounted an operation in Keliot village to flush out operators of lotto machines, they were not prepared for the outcome.

The team stormed one gambling den but the operator had been tipped off about the operation and escaped through the back door. They removed the equipment from the timber-walled shop and took it outside. 

But before they could load it onto a government vehicle and take it to the local police station as evidence, gamblers who had taken cover when the shop was raided appeared from their hideouts and grabbed the machine from the chief.

“They forcibly wrested the machine from us, destroyed it and scrambled for hundreds of coins that dropped from it,” Mr Ngetich after the incident on September 29.

In a video of the incident, several young men and women are seen fighting for the coins strewn on the ground.

Some of them claimed to have fed the money to the machine before the raid, with some having lost the game. Others had not had the opportunity to play before the evening raid.

Comical scene

In a helpless moment, Mr Ngetich, dressed in his official uniform, is seen struggling to grab parts of the machine as the gamblers engage in a free-for-all presenting a comical scene and the sad reality of a gambling society.

The incident illustrates the addiction by both men and women to gambling in the South Rift counties of Bomet, Kericho and Narok.

It is also clear that despite a government ban, operators of gambling machines in the region are back in business with a bang, in what has led to the breakup of families, school dropouts and loss of livelihoods.

Shops with lotto machines that had been closed a year ago in an operation ordered by Rift Valley Regional Commissioner George Natembeya have been reopened.

An operation by security officers in Kericho town last month confiscated 63 gambling machines, in a response to a public outcry following the reopening of several shops near the town’s bus station.

In another operation in Bomet town, several gambling machines were burnt down by administrators after operators were arrested.

However, several shops are operating in Bomet, Mulot, Silibwet, Sotik, Kaplong and Mogogosiek trading centres with the full knowledge of administrators and the police.

The same applies to Kericho, Nyagacho, Kapsoit, Brooke, Litein and Kapkatet, riling members of the public.
In Narok County, gambling machines are found mainly in Dikirr, Mulot, Sogoo and Olchobose.

“School children are a common sight in the outlets, especially during the weekends but administrators are not taking any action,” said Irene Birir, a resident of Mulot on the Narok-Bomet boundary.

There are claims that administrators and the police are collecting protection fees from the traders to allow them to continue with their illegal operations.

Mr Natembeya told administrators at a meeting in Bomet two weeks ago that disciplinary action would be taken against them if they do not rid their respective areas of lotto gambling machines.

Earlier this year in Litein, Kericho County, he said at a baraza that a female trader who had been operating in Nakuru had relocated to the region with several gambling machines.

“From today, chiefs, their assistants and police officers who are found to be offering protection to criminals, chang’aa and illicit brew dealers and operators of illegal gambling gangs will immediately be dismissed from service,” he said.

He wondered why those involved in the trade were operating with impunity in the region despite a government ban in place as if there were two sets of laws being applied in the country.

“I am made to understand that when Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i announced the start of a security operation in Kericho County, some chiefs and police officers provided a hiding haven for lotto gambling machines and their operators,” Mr Natembeya said.

In November last year, 127 slot coin lottery machines were destroyed in a crackdown in Bureti constituency following a public outcry.

Alfet Jillo, the area deputy county commissioner, said some traders were operating shops with lotto machines despite a government ban.

“It is unfortunate that women and youths have become addicted to gambling in the area, with many of them squandering money that would otherwise have been used to feed their families,” Ms Jillo said.

The machines were confiscated during an operation in Kapkatet, Roret, Litein and Cheborge.

In Bomet town, lottery machines have been installed in kiosks at the main market, with claims flying around that administrators and police are fully aware of their existence.

County Police Commander Naomi Ichami recently ordered a crackdown following a tip, leading to the arrest of an operator and two gamblers who had locked themselves in the shop at the main market.

“It is not possible that the traders are operating with impunity without the backing of the government officers who are supposed to crack the whip against them. It is a case of complicity and complacency by the officers,” said Beatrice Koech, a resident of Kaplong.

It has become almost a daily occurrence to come across chiefs and their assistants burning confiscated machines in the region, demonstrating a deeply rooted gambling culture that may take a long time to eradicate.