Police in Narok North Sub County on Wednesday seized and destroyed over 500 litres of illicit brew in London estate, Narok Town.
Led by the Narok North Sub County Police Commander, Frederick Shiundu the security team made impromptu raids to various illicit brew dens in the estate and netted hundreds of litres of illicit brew commonly known as Kangara used in making chang`aa and also seized 170 litres of chang`aa.
One woman was arrested in the impromptu raid while other brewers escaped.
“These brew has destroyed many families by killing their breadwinners, and those who survive are not able to carry on with their normal duties. This is why we should all join hands to eradicate the illicit brew,” Shiundu said.
Shiundu appealed to the public to give information on any person dealing with illegal drugs in the county, saying most people had turned to illegal dens after the county government closed all bars in the town to avert a possibility of Covid-19 infection.
“I thank the public for stepping up in assisting the police in the fight against illicit brew within the area and further ask them to provide relevant information that will facilitate the extinction of illicit brewing within the area,” he said.
The area Assistant County Commissioner, Abduba Duba reiterated his department will not relent in the fight against illicit brew in the county.
He said police officers would continue carrying out impromptu crackdowns with an aim of arresting those involved and arraign them in court.
“Illicit brewing contributes to poverty and insecurity since our young and energetic men and women are lost in the drinking dens and the only thing they can do to get money is stealing,” he observed.
He lauded women for their fundamental role of exposing the brewers and their customers hence making it easy to trap the perpetrators.
Meanwhile, the Floriculture sector in Naivasha has been hardest hit by the Coronavirus crisis with tens of farms facing closure and thousands of workers facing imminent job losses.
A day after some farmers completely stopped shipping their cut flowers to various destinations in Europe, close to 1,000 workers were sent home by their employers in a measure aimed at curbing the spread of the virus.
This came amid fears that the numbers could go up in the coming weeks with a number of farmers dumping flowers ready for export in their compost yard in the last five days due to cancellation of orders from consumers in Europe.
The Kenya Plantations and Agricultural Workers Union (KPAWU) Secretary General Naivasha branch, Ferdinand Juma regretted that the situation was changing by the day with eight farms having been affected with fears that the numbers could rise in the coming days.
“Since Monday around 1,000 workers have been sent on paid leaves while those on contract have been sent home for two weeks as their employers monitor the situation,” he said.
Juma admitted that the crisis had raised anxiety and fear among thousands of the workers in Naivasha as their jobs remained uncertain.
He added that the sector had more than 30,000 workers in various flower farms in Naivasha with the current situation worrying as very few flowers were now being exported due to the Coronavirus crisis.
According to Kenya Farmers Cooperation (KFC) CEO, Clement Tulezi, currently only 50 percent of the country’s flower production was accessing the EU market.
He added that currently flights to some EU countries affected by the virus have been suspended while the Dutch auction which is the main market for the country’s flower exports has reportedly collapsed dropping the exports by 50 percent.
Tulezi said that several farms had totally suspended shipping of flowers following the crisis caused by the Coronavirus in several EU countries.
“Farmers have had their orders cancelled and many have opted to reduce their shipping or totally cancelled it due to the uncertainty in the market,” he said.
The CEO said it was unfortunate that the sector was losing around Sh.10 million every day adding that they had embarked on the process of sending seasonal workers home while those on permanent employment are headed for leave.
By KNA TEAM
