Nairobi, Kenya, Feb 17 – Deputy president Rigathi Gachagua now says that the judiciary is the weakest link in the fight against illicit brews.
Gachagua who was speaking during the mass burial of 17 individuals who died after consuming poisonous brew in Kirinyaga county maintained that the courts are not doing their job and are not holding culpable individuals to account.
“Our court of law, despite being presided over by parents, is working against the very people they serve by giving court orders to allow merchants of death to continue selling poison to our children,” he stated.
“As a national government we have taken decisive action. What is remaining are the courts of law to do their work.”
The deputy president alleged that the individuals who sell the illicit brews in Mount Kenya region are granted fines that are not commensurate with their crimes thus giving them leeway to continue their activities which have claimed the lives of many youths in the region.
He maintained that the court process is reversing the gains made by the government in combating illicit brews in the country.
He called on Chief justice Martha Koome to talk to judges to desist giving directives that favour the illicit brew menace.
”I want to appeal to our Chief Justice to talk to magistrates and judges not to allow more deaths in this country,” added the deputy president.
Gachagua’s remarks follow the directives by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki Friday, ordering a nationwide crackdown on illicit brew across the country in the wake of the 17 deaths in Kirinyaga.
Kirinyaga county governor Anne Waiguru who doubles as the Council of Governors (COG) chairperson has also ordered the immediate closure of all bars in the county following the deaths resulting from the killer brew.
