Police in Mwala Sub-county have destroyed 31 outlawed Chinese gaming machines locally known as “tunyonde” which had been confiscated from business premises in Masii town.
In an exercise that was supervised by the Sub-county Police Commander Ronald Kirui Friday, the morally destructive coin-slot gadgets where idle youths spend all their time playing addictive games were set ablaze and reduced to ashes.
The cheap coin-slot machines which are mainly imported from China were banned in the country by the Interior CS Dr. Fred Matiangi in May 2018 after they were blamed for destroying the morals of youths.
Dr. Matiangi also ordered a nationwide crackdown which has seen hundreds of them destroyed through the efforts of the police and National Government Administrative Officers (NGAOs).
“This business is destroying the lives of our children,” some of them are not going to school. Let us stop pretending. We must stand up and call sin by its name for the sake of our children,” Dr. Matiangi was quoted in the Media in June 2018 speaking in Nyeri, while reiterating the ban order.
The Mwala incident brings to over 50, the number of the illegal machines destroyed in the Sub-county recently. Three weeks ago, the area Deputy County Commissioner, Alphazard Gitonga supervised the destruction of an earlier lot of the machines that had been confiscated from unscrupulous businessman in the same township.
The administrator then warned those still secretly using the machines to lure the youth that the government would catch up with them. Speaking Friday during the destruction exercise, Mr. Kirui reiterated that the government will not relent in its commitment to eradicate the Sub-county of the destructive and addictive machines.
“The burning of these machines is one of the measures we have taken to protect our youth from being misled by unscrupulous businessmen who do not care about their morals. We will extend our patrols to all corners of this sub-county and ensure that these destructive and illegal machines are eradicated from here,” Mr. Kirui warned.
By Justus Keesi
