Kikuyu council of elders backs state's war on illicit brew

Kikuyu elders during a past meeting at the Club Heritage in Naivasha. [File, Standard] The Kikuyu elders have raised concern over the rising consumption of illicit brew and drugs in central Kenya. Through the Kikuyu Council of Elders, Kiama Kiama and Ndundu ya Athamaki, they warned that the trend spells doom for hundreds of unemployed youths in the agriculture-rich region. This comes days after the government announced a 100-day Rapid Response Initiative (RRI) to deal with the menace that has affected thousands of families across the country. Speaking at Club Heritage Hotel in Naivasha, the elders regretted that illicit brew is easily accessible in the region. The Council National Secretary Ng'anga Nene said that they were ready to work with the State to address the menace. Addressing the Press after a three-day meeting, Nene decried the high number of broken marriages in the region, saying that illicit brew was playing a major role. "We are deeply worried by the illicit drug menace in the country and mainly in Central Kenya, where youths are becoming addicts by the day," he said. At the same time, he said that the elders were working on the community leadership transition, which had been delayed for over 80 years. "Many of our youths are in darkness over our cultural norms, and we have decided to unite as elders to address these challenges," he said. Community Director of Culture Kigochi Wa Waimeri said that the elders were non-political and were keen to address the emerging challenges. Kigochi attributed some of the challenges that the community was facing, including decay in moral values, to the delayed transition of leadership. "Elders drawn from different councils of the community have come together to address the issue of transition and all the challenges that the community is currently facing," he said. This was echoed by another elder, Dr Nyamu Njok, who noted that some foreign practices like same sex marriage and the use of drugs had found their way into the community. Njoka revealed that during the three-day workshop, the elders unanimously agreed to preserve the community's cultural identity, values, and heritage in the wake of the rising challenges.

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