Gachagua: Mt Kenya population is under threat from illicit brews and drugs
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua talks with Ms Grace Wahu at Kongoini Village in Kiharu, Murang'a County on March 24, 2024.
What you need to know:
- Mr Gachagua urges the public to support his fight against substance abuse.
- Deputy President says the region risks losing elections and becoming politically irrelevant.
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has claimed that the population of the Mt Kenya region is under threat due to alcohol and drug abuse.
“We are losing our productive age groups to the vices at an alarming rate. We have a family in Murang’a County that has lost all their seven sons,” he said, while vowing not to relent in his war against the vices.
He insisted no one will be allowed to sell alcohol in the region earlier than 5pm since “that is not the way to build a working nation and to reflect the spirit of an enterprising community”.
Speaking at Muthithi Catholic Church in Kigumo constituency on Sunday, Mr Gachagua urged locals to support his fight against substance abuse.
The DP also visited a widow whose seven sons reportedly died after consuming illicit brews. He condoled with Ms Grace Wahu, 85, at Kongo-ini village in Kiharu Constituency.
Describing her situation as tragic, Mr Gachagua told Kenyans that the illicit brews will be eradicated within the next six months.
"Mama Wahu is a mother of 11, but she has lost her seven sons to illicit brews. She tried to talk to them but they would not listen. They sold their inherited land, used the proceeds to drink alcohol and they are now buried on her land. They were well educated. This is the sad story everywhere in Mt Kenya region, every family is affected by alcoholism," said the DP.
Mama Wahu's home compound is marked with graves.
"Hers is a terribly sad story and a devastating example of the effects of illicit alcohol on families," said the DP.
Maragua MP Mary wa Maua had told the DP that “there are prosecutors who are demanding proof that illicit brews manufactured in riverbeds and bushes are indeed illicit and are demanding that they be furnished with standardisation certificates stating that the brews are indeed harmful to human health”.
Mr Gachagua said that “the region only needs five more years” of consuming illicit brews for its population to diminish drastically.
“That would be dangerous since it means the region will start losing elections and become politically irrelevant,” he said. “We’ll start treating our tyranny of numbers as a fairy tale”.
The “tyranny of numbers” was a term coined ahead of the 2013 General Election to illustrate Mt Kenya communities strength in voter numbers.
He said the region will continue reeving the lion’s share of benefits after voting overwhelmingly for President William Ruto in the August 9, 2022 polls.
“Those who showed us love (at the ballot) should be showed equal love in government opportunities. I recently said this is a country of shareholders and they widely criticized me yet that was the truth,” the DP said.
On Saturday, speaking during a fundraiser at Abothuguchi Boys High School in Meru County, Mr Gachagua said President Ruto is in the process of employing chief administrative secretaries “and Mt Kenya region will be represented well”.
He said “what I have always meant is that those who believed in us must be seen to be getting corresponding reward since this is a thankful government”.
He revealed his plans for the region’s political greatness, saying, he was reaching out to elders, technocrats and politicians to build a formidable force for future political contests.
“I want them to enrich me in wisdom, counsel me on how to succeed in my mission to take this community and region to greater heights and make my people rich and powerful,” he said.
Mr Gachagua said his single agenda is to ensure he leaves Mt Kenya region well-placed to create wealth and bargain for power in future governments.
Murang’a Senator Joe Nyutu, who has been calling for the appointment of Kiharu MP Ndindi Nyoro as President Ruto’s running mate in 2027, declared that he was solidly behind Mr Gachagua.
“For the sake of our people, our economic activities and our future, I join hands with others to declare solidarity with President Ruto and our Deputy President in their quest to work for service delivery,” he said.
Mr Nyutu added that “when we are united as a region, we will work better for our people and unite for our common interests and oppose what threatens us”.
“I implore you to multiply. We need lots of babies so that we can maintain our numbers. After I make it possible that husbands can come home early and sober, our women should accommodate them and commence the work of making babies,” he said.
Mr Nyutu pledged to be at the forefront of the campaign to increase the population of the region and would be giving instant cash rewards to all women he encounters pregnant.
Mr Gachagua was hosted in Kigumo by Governor Irungu Kang’ata and Kigumo MP Joseph Munyoro as well as more than 15 other elected leaders.
