Kenya Declares Total War on Killer Alcohol as Crisis Worsens
By Geoffrey Mosoku
July 3rd 2015 at 10:12 GMT
After spending the better part of the morning taking illicit brew at Kangemi Estate in Nyeri Thursday, this man, photographed above, fell on the roadside where he slept for hours
NAIROBI: Scenes of young men and women in a drunken stupor, some semi-comatose in filthy trenches, knocked out by lethal concoctions brewed by the ‘merchants of death’ who largely sell reinforced drinks, are now an eyesore in Kenyan villages and towns.
They stagger on the pathways, some wet their clothes, while others mumble incoherently, the sum effect pointing at a pathetic picture of how men and women, who should be an example to their children, arrive home as zombies. In some cases, the drunks are unable to separate day from night and clearly have little economic contribution to the livelihoods of those they are supposed to provide for.
Yet, unless the directive given Thursday banning second-generation drinks is effective, unlike past ones, they are never short of watering holes. So bad is the crisis of alcoholism that women particularly in Central Kenya have confronted the illegal brewers, whose deadly drinks are a threat to a generation, with young men lost to backstreet drinking dens.
Ravaged by the poisonous drinks, the young and old alike have either abandoned their families or are unable to marry, thrusting to the fore the problem racking society, which has now become a national shame. On the back of the worsening crisis, top national and county government officials Thursday declared an all-out war on killer brews that have claimed the lives of hundreds and shattered families.
The Government revoked all licences for second generation alcoholic drinks across the country effective midnight as officials gave the grim statistics: over 14,000 youths under 21 years die from alcohol incidents including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and associated injuries.
While there are no official figures of the death toll from the killer brews, the gravity of the problem was pronounced in May last year when over 100 people were killed across four counties.
And the National Authority for the Campaign against Drug Abuse (NACADA), in a survey in 2012, suggested a total of 4 million Kenyans countrywide were consuming illicit brews, and has recently warned the problem has worsened.
ALCOHOL PRICES
According to the 2012 National Survey on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 13.3 per cent of Kenyans are currently consuming alcohol, 9.13 per cent tobacco, 4.23 per cent miraa, 1.03 per cent bhang and 0.13 per cent heroine.
Thursday, the Government said after suspension of the licences, an inter-agency inspection to certify if the drinks are safe for consumption will be carried out.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000167833/kenya-declares-total-war-on-killer-alcohol-as-crisis-worsens
July 3rd 2015 at 10:12 GMT
After spending the better part of the morning taking illicit brew at Kangemi Estate in Nyeri Thursday, this man, photographed above, fell on the roadside where he slept for hours
NAIROBI: Scenes of young men and women in a drunken stupor, some semi-comatose in filthy trenches, knocked out by lethal concoctions brewed by the ‘merchants of death’ who largely sell reinforced drinks, are now an eyesore in Kenyan villages and towns.
They stagger on the pathways, some wet their clothes, while others mumble incoherently, the sum effect pointing at a pathetic picture of how men and women, who should be an example to their children, arrive home as zombies. In some cases, the drunks are unable to separate day from night and clearly have little economic contribution to the livelihoods of those they are supposed to provide for.
Yet, unless the directive given Thursday banning second-generation drinks is effective, unlike past ones, they are never short of watering holes. So bad is the crisis of alcoholism that women particularly in Central Kenya have confronted the illegal brewers, whose deadly drinks are a threat to a generation, with young men lost to backstreet drinking dens.
Ravaged by the poisonous drinks, the young and old alike have either abandoned their families or are unable to marry, thrusting to the fore the problem racking society, which has now become a national shame. On the back of the worsening crisis, top national and county government officials Thursday declared an all-out war on killer brews that have claimed the lives of hundreds and shattered families.
The Government revoked all licences for second generation alcoholic drinks across the country effective midnight as officials gave the grim statistics: over 14,000 youths under 21 years die from alcohol incidents including car crashes, homicides, suicides, alcohol poisoning and associated injuries.
While there are no official figures of the death toll from the killer brews, the gravity of the problem was pronounced in May last year when over 100 people were killed across four counties.
And the National Authority for the Campaign against Drug Abuse (NACADA), in a survey in 2012, suggested a total of 4 million Kenyans countrywide were consuming illicit brews, and has recently warned the problem has worsened.
ALCOHOL PRICES
According to the 2012 National Survey on Alcohol and Drug Abuse, 13.3 per cent of Kenyans are currently consuming alcohol, 9.13 per cent tobacco, 4.23 per cent miraa, 1.03 per cent bhang and 0.13 per cent heroine.
Thursday, the Government said after suspension of the licences, an inter-agency inspection to certify if the drinks are safe for consumption will be carried out.
Read more at: http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/article/2000167833/kenya-declares-total-war-on-killer-alcohol-as-crisis-worsens
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