Religious leaders in Sogoo join in fight against illicit brewing

Jun 23, 2023 - 13:38

Security team at Sogoo area in Narok South Sub County and some church members during one of the sensitization forums.

Narok, Friday, June 23, 2023

KNA by Ann Salaton

Religious leaders in Sogoo area, Narok South Sub County have joined local administrators to fight illicit brewing by holding sensitization forums in the trading centers in the area.

The faithful led by Pastor Matthew Chelule said many families were living in abject poverty because the breadwinners spent too much of their productive hours in drinking dens.

Pastor Chelule lamented that many young people in the area were not productive while others were developing mental disorders because of consuming too much alcohol.

“We will be moving around to educate the residents on the dangers of consuming illicit brew so that they can drop at their own will. We want them to change so that together we can build the nation,” he said.

The religious leader said they would be handing over a list of notorious homesteads that were used as brewing dens to the officials so that they could do more investigations and help to eradicate the menace.

“We know some of the hide-outs where brewers hide so as to evade arrest. We will expose them to the authorities so that their homesteads can be investigated,” he said.

Narok South Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) Felix Kisalu said the illegal drinks included the second generation alcohol, chang’aa, busaa, kangara among others that did not have a legal seal from the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA).

Kisalu said the collaboration with the churches would bear more fruits as they would be able to unearth the illegal dens and expose the notorious brewers.

“This time round, we will leave no stone unturned until we eradicate illicit brewing in this sub county. We will pursue the brewers until they give up on the illegal business and look for alternative businesses,” he said.

Kisalu sounded a warning to chiefs, their assistants and the police officers who collaborated with the brewers saying they risked facing prosecution and losing their jobs.

This comes barely a day after the County Governor Patrick Ntutu and County Commissioner Isaac Masinde resolved to constitute a special committee to lead the fight against illicit brewing.

Courtesy ; K. N. A