Tuesday, December 24, 2024 – Mt. Kenya leaders have responded to Interior Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo’s dismissal of Rigathi Gachagua’s assertion that the government was actively facilitating alcoholism in the Mount Kenya region.
In a statement yesterday, the 23
leaders called out the PS for trivializing the matter and failing to address
key issues raised by the former Deputy President in his Sunday address.
“Today (yesterday) the Principal
Secretary Internal Security and National Administration responded via a Press
Statement. However, at no point of that statement did he respond to the
specific issues raised by HE Rigathi Gachagua,” part of the statement read.
Among the issues they sought
clarification on was whether the government's efforts to curb the
production, distribution, sale, and consumption of illicit brews had been
successful during Gachagua's tenure in office.
Consequently, they also stated
that they expected clarification on whether illicit brews had resurfaced since
Gachagua left office, particularly in the Mount Kenya Region, and, if so, why
that was the case.
Regarding the issue of several
companies being licensed to produce and distribute alcohol in the region, they
emphasised that the PS needed to provide comprehensive details.
“If the PS was being honest, we
expected him to provide details of all 29 companies dealing with
second-generation alcohol, including where and when they were vetted and by
which specific officers in the institutions he has named,” the statement
continued.
They also demanded that the PS
disclose the names of the 15 companies that have been vetted and licensed to
sell second-generation alcohol, along with detailed information about their
locations and any directives they were issued.
“The PS should specifically
confirm whether the 13 companies he recently licensed were meant to sell
exclusively in the Mt Kenya Region and, if true, whether he vetted these
companies entirely by himself,” the statement added.
They further dismissed the PS’s
attempt to suggest that the matter was politically motivated and stressed that
the former Deputy President retained the authority to comment on national
matters, as his removal from office was contested in court.
“As for the PS asking the former
Deputy President for evidence of his statements, one only needs to walk around
any shopping centre in the Mt Kenya Region to gather the required evidence,”
they concluded.
The Kenyan DAILY POST
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