The Principal Secretary for the State Department of Internal Security and National Administration Raymond Omollo has dismissed claims by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua that the government is facilitating alcoholism in the Mt Kenya region.
Speaking during a church service in Naivasha, Gachagua claimed that the government had undone his efforts to do away with illicit brew in Mt Kenya.
In a statement on Monday, December 23, 2024, Omollo termed Gachagua’s sentiments as selfish and politically motivated inflammatory, saying the government does not produce, distribute or retail any alcoholic drinks.
“The State Department of Internal Security and National Administration wishes to condemn the reckless statements made by the impeached former Deputy President Mr. Rigathi Gachagua in a church service he attended yesterday accusing the government of deliberately targeting citizens of Kenya in Mt. Kenya region with illicit and counterfeit alcohol distribution,” Omollo said.
“Only this weekend we had the unfortunate tragic loss of lives of three Kenyans in Nakuru following the consumption of illicit alcohol and their families are in mourning. We take great exception that such grave national matters can be trivialized by one individual, on a church podium nonetheless, without empathy for the families that may be struggling with this crisis.”
According to Omollo, insinuating that any executive can direct the sale of any alcohol, whether poisonous or not is mischievous and misconceived and would amount to illegality.
“In every corner of this country the government officials involved in the fight against illicit alcohol include chiefs and their assistants who are part of their communities and it’s inconceivable that they would preside over what Mr. Gachagua accuses them of,” he added.
In March 2024, the Government announced a 25-point enforcement program for suppression of the manufacture, sale, distribution and consumption of illicit alcohol, narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances in the Country.
“All the 29 active manufacturers and distillers of second-generation alcohol were vetted by a multi-agency team and only two were found to be fully compliant. The government further conducted a comprehensive re-vetting exercise involving 22 out of the 27 dealers that had failed the earlier test and proceeded to license 13 more alcohol manufacturers and distillers,” Omollo added.
“The vetting process was carried out by ten (10) agencies. They are the State Department for Internal Security and National Administration, National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP), Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS), Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA), Directorate of Occupational Safety and Health Services (DOSHS), Anti- Counterfeit Agency (ACA), Public Health Department, National Environmental Management Authority (NEMA) and the Department of Weights and Measures.”
Omollo vs Gachagua
Omollo also accused Gachagua of speaking in bad faith by making the claims against a government that he served in.
“It is therefore in bad faith and disingenuous of Mr. Gachagua to turn around, after serving this country at the highest office, and lay such ludicrous claims on such a sensitive matter that deeply impacts families and lives,” he added.
“We welcome Mr Rigathi Gachagua to make official complaints and present the evidence he may hold to our investigative or enforcement officers if his true intention is to save lives of Kenyans from the harm of illicit alcohol.”
According to Gachagua, the PS was instructed by the president to reopen all alcohol factories manufacturing substandard alcohol and urged them to sell the alcohol exclusively in Mount Kenya.
“The Interior Security PS was instructed by the President to reopen all those alcohol factories, and they were urged to sell the alcohol exclusively in Mount Kenya. It is not sold in Rift Valley or anywhere else. Yesterday, three people died in Bahati,” Gachagua claimed.
“Since they forced me out of office, the President has ordered all the illicit alcohol that kills people to be brought here to destroy our young people.”
