Many young people in Kenya have become hopeless and families ravaged by the high consumption of illicit brews and substance abuse.
This has compelled the State to issue a stern warning against the brewing and sale of illicit brews as well as peddling of other substances.
Through the police and national government administrators, Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i and Permanent Secretary Karanja Kibicho are fighting to end the menace.
But in Homa Bay, those entrusted with dealing with the illegal sale and consumption of the brews have continued to clash over the operation.
Some rogue police officers in the area are even said to be colluding with brewers and peddlers to promote the illegal business.
This has forced government administrators to risk their lives conducting raids without the assistance of the police.
“We risk a lot. We could even be attacked. We depended on our numbers as a strength. We have no armed officers with us because every other time they accompanied us, we got nothing since they text brewers beforehand,” said an official in the county who has been at the forefront in the fight against the illicit brews.
The Ministry of Interior has, however, reiterated its resolve to fight the illicit brews across the country.
In some places, chiefs and their assistants have even been attacked as they endeavour to rid the country of the brews.
In Homa Bay, police are now on the spot over claims of colluding with brewers and illicit brew sellers to frustrate government efforts to deal with the menace.
At the moment, police officers based at Sindo Patrol Base in Suba Sub-County are on the spot over claims of replacing with water at least 140 litres of chang’aa which had been seized during a raid on Saturday.
This was part of 4,710 litres of kangara that had been destroyed during the operation.
The operation, which was led by Central Division Assistant County Commissioner Abdullalahi Abdimalik assisted by chiefs, their assistant and village elders, netted 140 litres of the brew.
During the raid, a suspect, Mr Vitalis Otieno, was arrested.
But to the dismay of the authorities, some police officers replaced the brew with water “in a bid to paralyse the case and absolve the suspect from blame.”
Homa Bay County Commissioner David Kipkemei said that already, the report has been filed with the county DCI office which is investigating the matter.
“It is true some police officers colluded with a suspect and replaced at least 140 litres of chang’aa with water to beat the court process. But investigations have been launched and the culprits will be brought to book,” Mr Kipkemei said.
On Sunday, Nyanza Regional Commissioner James Kianda said he had also taken up the matter and promised to ensure action is taken against the perpetrators.
“I have taken up the matter with the regional police commander and investigations will be conducted and action taken appropriately,” Mr Kianda told the Nation.
Authorities in parts of Homa Bay have resorted to conducting raids without the help of police officers despite the risks involved “as some officers have been accused of alerting the suspects who disappear before being arrested as they also conceal evidence”.
In Bomet, three suspects who attacked chiefs and seriously wounded them during a raid on a chang’aa den four months ago have finally been arrested.
The suspects who had been on the run were arrested after sneaking back to their homes in Cheptalal, Konoin Constituency.
Bomet County Commissioner Geoffrey Omoding said the suspects, including a woman, were arrested following a tip off from the public.
“The suspects have been arrested and will be arraigned to answer to charges of assaulting officers on duty and resisting arrest,” said Mr Omoding.
He added that the suspects had waited for the matter to cool down before sneaking back but were shocked to find the police file was still open.
Speaking to the Nation, Mr Omoding said the suspects had sought refuge in Mauche in the neighbouring Nakuru County after learning that police were on their trail.
“We will not entertain any forms of attack against administrators who are going about implementing government policies and programmes,” said Mr Omoding on Sunday morning.
Four other suspects were arrested a few days after the incident and have since been arraigned in Sotik where they denied assaulting the administrators and inflicting serious bodily harm on them.
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