The Kericho County Commissioner (CC), Moses Mbaruku has ordered chiefs their assistants and security personnel to crackdown on all illicit chang’aa brewers and sellers in a bid to contain the spread of covid-19 disease.
Speaking on Saturday at a local Christian Radio Station, Light and Life, Mbaruku noted that some unscrupulous illicit chang’aa brewers and sellers had taken the advantage of closure of license bars to cash in on the few illicit brew drinkers in the county.
Mbaruku however, regretted that consumption of chang’aa and bussa was still going on in rural areas after closure of bars in most urban centres in the county, warning chiefs of dire consequences should they fail to identify and crash the illicit brewing dens in their areas of jurisdiction.
“We cannot win the war against the COVID-19 at time when people in rural areas are converging at busaa and chang’aa dens.Chiefs have the responsibility of ensuring those behind the outlawed business are arrested,” Mbaruku said.
The CC who was speaking on the measures to be undertaken by the residents following the presence of Covid-19 pandemic in the country, urged Kericho residents to heed to the Ministry of Health instructions given of washing and sanitizing their hands and maintaining social distancing to curb the spread of the disease.
He said that some 300 water tanks containing had been placed along several urban centres where members of the public could wash their hands.
Mbaruku said that 6, 800 Nyumba Kumi centres have been established to oversee the exercise of fumigation and sanitization.
The CC assured the residents that the national government was fully prepared in ensuring food supplies were available to town residents should the situation on corona virus worsen.
Mbaruku asked police to assist residents found within the curfew hour of 7 pm to reach their homes and not to beat or manhandle them.
However, he reiterated that those who failed to follow the government directive would dealt with according to the law.
The CC noted that police were human and they should not be provoked as they discharged their mandate.
By Dominic Cheres
