A man in Busia has continued to attract attention from authorities and members of the public after he decided to finance local brew dealers to open alternative businesses as part of the war on illicit alcohol consumption.
Alfred Oduya told reporters in an interview that many youths, despite interventions by the government to limit the sale and consumption of illicit brew, are still consuming outlawed liquor.
Majority of those he targets are women selling chang’aa.
So far Oduya has helped two women who have opened makeshift hotels in Amagoro town in Teso North subcounty after abandoning chang’aa business. Another beneficiary has begun selling second hand clothes.
“I am ready to help many more people to stop the business of selling illegal liquor so that we save the youth getting lost in drunkenness,” he said.
“I have never heard of anyone being admitted to hospital because he or she skipped the bottle. That alone tells us that beer is not a must in our lives.”
For a start, Oduya gives Sh10,000 to women who are ready to stop selling chang’aa.
For those who invest the money prudently and grow their profit, he adds another Sh10,000 to facilitate the expansion of the business.
Ann Kiteki, a beneficiary who presently runs a makeshift hotel in Amagoro, said she was happy with Oduya’s initiative.
She said when she used to sell chang'aa, law enforcement officers would arrest her at least twice a week and fine her for selling the illicit liquor.
Kiteki had never thought of abandoning business since it was the only source of income for her.
Her hotel business is stabilisng and Kiteki, a widow, is hopeful the investment will grow and help her pay school fees for her three children.
“I have been engaging law enforcers in running battles since 2020 when I started selling chang’aa,” she said. “Sometime, I would become a stranger in my own home over fear of arrest.”
In April, Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua ordered security agencies to crack down on illicit brew and hard drugs across the country, in a development he said would help youth become productive.
“You have information on where illicit brew is prepared and sold. The National Government Administration Officers and police commanders must convene a meeting and within a week shut down those dens permanently. You must ensure they do not reopen," the DP said.
Gachagua warned that the government will not entertain officers who will not deliver on his order, which is aimed at saving the young generation.
Officers involved in the operation are required to account for the number of dens shut down, those arrested and prosecuted.
Oduya called on National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse and other agencies engaged in the fight against illicit brew to partner with him in the struggle.
“I am ready to help in collaboration with Nacada, county and national government leaders and other organisations to change the culture of youths drinking illicit brew and consuming forbidden drugs. I want them to embrace meaningful duties that can eradicate poverty,” Oduya, an engineer by profession, said.
The DP had warned that no officer should be intimidated while executing the order because such impunity has killed many youths in the past insisting that “nobody in this country is sacred in killing our children”.
He said President William Ruto is deeply concerned that alcoholism and substance abuse is destroying, with the Central region being the worst hit.
It is for this reason, he said, the President asked him to convene a high-level forum in coming up with strategies for ending the menace.
In September Teso North deputy county commissioner Stephen Wambura, who met Oduya and Kiteki in his office, said authorities in the subcounty are making collaborative efforts to eradicate illicit brew and hard drugs in the region.
He said officers occasionally conduct raids in dens, directly engage brewers by talking to them at family level and involving the church in a bid to eradicate drunkenness.
“Some brewers use a lot of chemicals to make their brews mature fast,” Wambura said.
“We are developing strategies in collaboration with multi-agencies and leaders to organise public barazas to help restore lives of those who had engaged in illicit brews and drugs.”
Teso North where Oduya operates from is in Western, a region categorised among regions with high illicit beer consumption rates.
