Peter Mbae: NACADA should be releasing list of drug barons, not imposing harsh rules
DCP Secretary for Planning and Economic Affairs Peter Mbae has criticised the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), urging the agency to focus on exposing drug barons rather than imposing what he describes as unconstitutional and harsh regulations targeting young people.
Speaking on Thursday, July 31, 2025, in response to NACADA’s recently launched National Policy for the Prevention, Management and Control of Alcohol, Drugs, and Substance Abuse 2025, Mbae dismissed the new rules as misguided and ineffective measures that fail to address the root causes of substance abuse among Kenyan youth.
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“They stop focusing on what they should be focusing on, and then the holier-than-thou attitude comes in, and they drop some instructions because young people are taking alcohol,” Mbae said, lamenting what he sees as a disconnect between NACADA’s priorities and the actual challenges facing the youth.
He argued that the rules are neither new nor necessary, pointing out that existing laws already regulate alcohol and drug abuse.
“The rules are not something generic or something coming up because of the need of the industry because there are existing laws, and second, these laws are illegal and unconstitutional,” he added, emphasising his belief that the proposed regulations lack legal standing.
Mbae expressed suspicion that the new policy was born out of a vision to control and reign over the young people rather than to tackle the deeper problems fuelling substance abuse.
He said it was unclear how the agency could just wake up one day and slap young people and the beverage industry with such regulations, saying they are by far out of touch.
“Then something like these rules comes up one day. I mean, what are they all about?” he questioned.
Instead, Mbae called on NACADA to prioritise transparency by revealing the identities of drug barons who he says have made young people zombies through the importation and distribution of narcotics.
He said that this is the only way to truly discern whether their regulations are broad measures or merely tactics to harass young people, emphasising that it must also serve as the crucial first step in tackling drug abuse among the youth.
“Let me tell you what NACADA should be telling us if it is genuine and organic: tell us who the drug barons are,” he insisted.
He further referenced existing international documentation, including reports from the United Nations, that detail networks of narcotics traffickers.
“It is there, all the documentation from the UN. It is there. Tell us who these people are, the drug barons,” Mbae demanded.
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Steve Ireri
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