Activists and elders in Lamu have accused the county government of doing nothing while drugs continue to ravage the region.
They said the county government has instead left the entire burden of fighting drugs in the region to the police and the courts.
According to the National Agency for the Campaign against Drug Abuse, over 5000 people are hooked on hard drugs in Lamu.
Speaking in Lamu town on Friday, Haki Africa coordinator in Lamu Yunus Issakia says the county government has failed to formulate regulations to contain the situation.
“We want the county government to break their silence on this matter and tell us what they are doing to address the drugs menace. Who told them the police alone can win this? The leadership should provide a way forward. Their silence on the situation is too loud,” said Issakia.
Issakia said it’s impossible for the police alone to deal with the menace.
Activist Amina Aziz of the Amkeni Vijana Organisation appealed to the county government to sponsor all drug addicts for rehabilitation both in Lamu and other centres in the country.
According to elder Jaffer Manga, having been born and raised in Lamu, the county enforcement officers need to work closely with police as they know the community better than most officers who are posted from outside.
In reaction, Lamu deputy governor Abdulhakim Aboud denied that they had slacked and said plans were underway to establish a special unit at the King Fahad hospital to cater to drug addicts.
“We are setting up a Methadone unit at the hospital and we are almost done,” said Aboud.
