Kiambu Governor Waititu ropes in Mututho to win illicit brew fight

Ex-NACADA chair John Mututho flanked by Governor Waititu at the county headquarters in Kiambu town (PHOTO: FILE)

KIAMBU, KENYA: Kiambu Governor Ferdinand Waititu has hired former National Authority for Campaign Against Alcohol and Drugs Abuse (NACADA) Chairman John Mututho to help him win war against illicit brew in the area.

Waititu announced that he had appointed Mututho as his advisor on Alcoholism and drug abuse after signing into law of Kiambu County Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill 2017 last Thursday.

He said the decision to rope in the former Nacada Chairman who is a known crusader against alcoholism and illicit brew in the country was to help him win the war against the deeply entrenched menace in the area.

“I want to let residents know that I have now hired John Mututho who will be a member of the team that will be fighting illicit brew in the county. I am determined to eradicate illicit brew menace in the county,” said Mr Waititu.

The governor said many residents have in the past died and others gone blind as a result of consuming illegal brew a thing he said must now come to a stop.

The new law which came in force last week seeks to regulate manufacture, sale and consumption of alcohol. All bars are expected to close down pending vetting and fresh licensing.

It also prohibits the police and the provincial administration from participating in the fight against illicit drinks in the county.

Instead, a special unit of county askaris and enforcement officers have been launched and charged with enforcing the new law.

Mr Mututho who graced the occasion to the bill in to law said he had accepted the appointment and vowed to ensure that illicit brew becomes a thing of the past in the county within the next 30 days.

He said research showed that a total of Sh36 billion was being used by Kiambu residents’ annually to consume alcohol which he said was not healthy for the economic development of the area.

“I want to let the resident know that within the next 30 days, there will be no illicit liquor or second generation alcohol in the entire county. We are very serious about this and now with the new law nothing will stop us from winning the war,” said Mututho.

Mututho who is the former Naivasha MP came in to the limelight in 2010 when he successfully sponsored in parliament Alcoholic Drink Control Bill which later assented in law by former President Mwai Kibaki.