Drugs abuse blamed for rising insecurity in Garissa

The rising cases of insecurity in Garissa town has been blamed on  illicit drugs and substance use.

This was revealed during the launch of the Garissa county Rapid Response initiative to eliminate counterfeit drinks.

In the recent past, there have been rising cases of mugging and stabbing in the town which has been blamed on youth who mostly consume illicit drugs.

Several speakers at the event attended by government agencies among them Kebs, Nacada, the Anti-Counterfeit Authority, KRA and the county government acknowledged that there was a problem that needed to be urgently fixed.

Ambia Abdi, a woman leader, said women are the biggest victims of mugging from the youth who are mostly aged between 13 and 30 years.

Some of the drugs commonly abused are alcohol, miraa, mugukaa and prescription drugs.

“The situation is getting out of hand. We have watched our mothers being stabled and their handbags snatched from them by this knife wielding boys. Unfortunately, the criminals are our sons,” Ambia said.

Garissa county commissioner Boaz Cherutich while acknowledging that there was a problem, said the government will conduct a crackdown to root out drug abuse and sale of illicit liquor in the county.

He said a multi-agency enforcement committee will be formed to gather information and apprehend the culprits.

“We will carry out an operation with county enforcement officers, chiefs and assistant chiefs in all subcounties in Garissa to put a stop to drug abuse,” Cherutich said.

The commissioner said the government will take stern action against drug barons and traffickers.

The county commissioner urged the public to share intelligence reports with the security agencies to ensure further action is taken.

“We have a mulika programme initiated by the government. If you want to report a crime you can send a short message from your phone to 988, you will get an option to fill in details and the name of those involved in crime,” said the county commissioner.

He lamented that drug trafficking from across the bordering counties and countries noting that the security agents have information on suspected perpetrators and will soon make arrests.

The commissioner also called on religious leaders to join in the fight  against drugs abuse which he said has attributed to rising crime rate in the county.

Nacada Northeastern regional manager Rev Wangai Gachoka revealed that some people are abusing prescription drugs used to treat patients with mental health issues.

“He said the agency will focus on the traffickers and bar managers who are operating without legal licenses.

“We will not allow anybody to operate without the liquor license or following the law. We are going for those using bar licenses to open wines and spirit shops and we will close them,” Gachoka said.

“With the multi-sectoral approach, we will be able to implement the Tobacco Act (2007), Alcoholic Act (2010), and with Kenya Revenue Authority and the Anti-counterfeit Authority make sure that we eliminate drug abuse in this region,” he added.

-Edited by SKanyara