Men abusing the muguka stimulant in Mbeere have abdicated their responsibilities and are sleeping under their matrimonial beds, an MP has said.
Mbeere North MP Muriuki Njagagua expressed concern that the lucrative Muguka stimulant widely grown in his constituency is causing havoc in families.
He said husbands who have been over-chewing the stimulant are not playing their roles and are foregoing their conjugal duties.
He said they miss their matrimonial beds and instead sleep under them.
He was speaking when he presided over the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of Siakago Technical and Vocational Training College at Kabachi village on Friday.
The MP said the stimulant is not harmful if taken responsibly and that it works just like alcoholic drinks but abused, it has side effects.
He said the government facilitated him to travel to various countries to push for recognition of miraa under which muguka is categorised as an ordinary stimulant and that it also facilitated research with over Sh100 million.
He said after the research miraa was found not to be a drug like bhang and thus allocated Sh2.1 billion for its development like the other agricultural crops.
With that money, some of the projects that will be carried out in Embu include drilling of two boreholes, at Evutoka primary school, in Mbeere North and Ndagoma catholic church in Mbeere North.
Mbeere South will get three boreholes at Kamuguchu, Murindi, and Nyweri.
Then there will be six market sheds: one in Embu town, one at Kwanjara, in Embu East Sub-county, another at Muraru, and Kiritiri in Mbeere South Sub-County and one at Siakago and Gatituri in Mbeere North Sub-county.
He asked the local farmers to use it for obtaining money to educate their children, build houses and carry out other developments but not to over-consume it.
Njgagagua said the technical college is supposed to be complete in a year and that it will help the youth who will not be able to proceed to university gain skills in various fields.
He encouraged the youth to enroll in it arguing that technical jobs are marketable enough to enable them earn a decent livelihood.
