Courts raise Sh7 million from chang’aa dealers and consumers in six months

By ERIC LUNGAI

Vihiga, Kenya: A total of Sh7 million has been raised by the Vihiga Law Courts as fines imposed on suspects found brewing, selling and consuming chang’aa in the last six months.

A further 1,500 suspected criminals have been arrested and charged and 375 rolls of bhang impounded, especially in Luanda town. Releasing the information, Vihiga County Commissioner Boaz Cherotich said this was in the spirit of fighting drug abuse and devising mechanisms where the vice could be eliminated from the society.

 “We have intensified the fight against drug abuse in the county because most of the youths who abuse drugs are the ones who engage in acts of insecurity. If we succeed in fighting drug abuse which is a security threat, everyone will be able to see an improved county,” Cherotich said.

He was addressing chiefs and their assistants at Sabatia sub-county deputy commissioner’s headquarters yesterday as they sought to constitute committees at the grassroots level that will help in the fight against terrorism. He noted that chiefs had been integral in the fight against drug abuse in the region as they had helped nab suspected criminals and hand them over to the police.

Cherotich said the committees will work in a bid to comply with the Ministry of Interior and National Co-ordination’s directive to hunt down terrorists.  

In a separate meeting at Serem, Cherotich said the county had received ten new vehicles to boost security and police would have no excuse in response to calls by the residents in case of an insecurity risk.

“There will be no excuse for the police to say that there is no fuel. Their vehicles will be fuelled by the government and no one will be required to pay anything to get services from the police,” he said.

The county official said they were going to give residents numbers to call in case of an emergency and police would respond immediately.

He asked the residents to utilise the services of security agents to boost security, and further insisted on the need for residents to embrace the spirit of the Nyumba Kumi initiative by seeking to know their neighbours.

“We want to create a security-friendly environment so the region should not stagnate in terms of achieving its development projects,” he said.