• Activists want Parliament to reject a Bill currently in the House seeking to legalise the drug.
• The Bill was proposed by Kibra MP Ken Okoth who said the drug had medicinal properties especially useful in cancer treatment.
Malindi anti-narcotics crusaders have opposed plans for the legalisation of bhang.
They want Parliament to reject a Bill currently in the House seeking to legalise the drug.
The Bill was proposed by Kibra MP Ken Okoth who said the drug had medicinal properties especially useful in cancer treatment.
Mohamed Famau a renowned anti-drug crusader in Malindi said if the Bill is passed into law, bhang will wipe out both the current and future generation.
He spoke at Mayungu dumpsite during the destruction by the Judiciary of narcotic drugs worth Sh14.5 million.
There were 500 kilograms of bhang worth Sh2.5 million and five kilograms of heroin worth Sh12 million. They were exhibits which passed through the courts between 2002 and 2019.
“Bhang affects youth in many ways. Some get mental sickness, drop out of school while others do not get married,” he said.
Famau hailed the Judiciary for the good work and the police for sacrificing day and night in the crackdown against drug traffickers.
‘‘This is not something easy or small. This is the third time in Malindi we are destroying drugs. We have gone a step further after the campaigns aimed at ending drug trafficking,’’ he said.
Coast region is a renowned hub for drug trafficking and use among thousands of youths.
Mohamed said the aim of the campaign is to end drug trafficking in Kilifi county and the coast region.
On Thursday during a memorial service for Okoth at Moi Girls High School in Kibra, Governor Mike Sonko urged MPs to pass the Bill.
He told MPs present, including Embakasi East legislator Babu Owino, to push on with Okoth's Bill.
The MP had written to National Assembly Speaker Justin Muturi in 2018, saying amnesty measures should be instituted for the removal of criminal records against citizens with prior convictions of marijuana use.
Malindi chief magistrate Julie Oseko who led the exercise said the narcotics were recovered from 1012 suspects who were prosecuted and convicted at the Malindi law courts.
Asked about the proposed Bill, the magistrate said she would comment in the right forums.
“If the Bill comes to Malindi I will give my contribution as an individual. It’s the public which makes the law, the Judiciary just enforces it,” she said.
Malindi assistant county commissioner Omar Abdi thanked the public for their good work in volunteering information that led to the arrest of the over 1012 suspects.
“The fight will be intensified and our target will be more than this,” he said.
Alice Mathangani from the office of the Director of Public Prosecution said they register one plea for drugs in at the Malindi law courts daily.
(edited by O. Owino)