Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has decried the rampant consumption of illicit brews in Central Kenya, terming it a serious threat to future generations.
Kahiga also asked residents in the region to support the government in tackling the menace, which he said threatens to wipe out men as they are the worst affected by the vice.
So grave is the challenge that, according to a 2022 report from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug and Alcohol Abuse (NACADA), 635,000 people from the area were found to be addicted to alcoholism and drugs, a figure that almost tallied with the population of Nyeri, which stands at 700,000.
The county boss was speaking during the official opening ceremony of the Ihururu Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre in Tetu, which was presided over by Her Excellence Dorcas Rigathi.
“From the NACADA report, it is shocking to note that 99 per cent of those hooked on these illicit brews and proscribed drugs were found to be persons of the male gender. Before the government launched a major crackdown against illicit brews in this region, our community was headed to a sure extinction owing to the number of men who had been reduced to zombies due to uncontrolled drinking,” Governor Kahiga said.
And while lauding the government for overseeing the operationalization of the Ihururu Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre, Kahiga promised to ensure the facility gets all the support it needs to enable those seeking treatment to get help.
He also called for the establishment of three other facilities within the Central Region to ensure people living in adjacent counties do not have to travel far to seek treatment.
Kahiga also promised to facilitate the speedy deployment of medics to the facility, which is categorised as a Level Four hospital and the first public institution of its kind in the Central and Rift Valley regions.
“This is the first hospital of its kind in both the Central and Rift Valley Regions, and we are going to ensure that this hospital becomes a fully-fledged Level 4 hospital with all its staffing needs duly taken care of. This facility is nevertheless not enough, and we need another one in Kiambu, another one in Murang’a, and one other either in Meru, Embu, or Tharaka Nithi so that one centre can handle three counties,” he added.
The 90-bed capacity facility opened its doors to patients in September this year after an assessment by NACADA to ensure that it met all the set requirements to offer treatment for addiction.
The centre is the only public facility in the county that offers treatment for drug and alcohol addiction.
Currently, a total of 14 patients are admitted to the facility.
A report released by NACADA in mid-May this year revealed that alcohol was found to be the most abused drug in the country, with 3,199,119 of the population affected, followed by tobacco and khat at 2,305,929 and 964,737 people, respectively.
According to the findings, the Western region led in the use of chang’aa at 11.4 per cent followed by Nyanza at 6.3 per cent and Rift Valley at 3.6 per cent.
The Central Region, on the other hand, had the highest prevalence of portable spirits at 4.1 per cent followed by the Coast at 3.2 percent and the Rift Valley at 3.1 per cent.
Whereas Western Kenya was leading in illicit brewing consumption, followed by Nyanza, then Rift Valley, the Mount Kenya region suffers from a high prevalence of portable spirits with high poison levels, according to the findings.
The Coast region was ranked second with 3.2 per cent while Rift Valley recorded the third highest number of people consuming second-generation liquor at 3.1 per cent.
According to the report, the respondents noted that the production and consumption of illicit brews, including chang’aa, had increased.
Further, they equally noted an increase in the number of bars in their community in the last five years, with the Central region recording the highest perception level, followed by Nairobi and Eastern.
In April this year, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua announced that he would spearhead the war against illicit brews and drugs after it emerged that the Central region had the highest level of illicit alcohol consumption.
By Samuel Maina and Wangari Mwangi
