The Coast region has suffered greatly from the effects of drug abuse. Currently the community is disintegrating primarily because of the drug issue. When it comes to drugs, there two sides.
There is demand and supply of the drug. While the community can do a lot to deal with demand, supply is the main responsibility of the government. But we are seeing that the government is not doing enough.
Most of the narcotics officers are themselves connected with the drug barons and they are feeding off them.
A good number of these drug barons and smaller lords are also politically well connected. They have protection and even if they are arrested and arraigned, a few days later they are freed and you find them in the streets. It is not just the Executive arm of the government that has led us down, we are also looking at the Judiciary.
The Judiciary also releases people back to the streets and they continue their drug business. The government has not done enough to fight the supply side of the drug business.
The Akasha Brothers saga is one that shows that as a country we really need to pull up our socks. The Akasha dynasty has been on and off because of protection.
You see that when the US came in, they arrested them and have convicted them of drug trafficking. Out of their arrests we are also seeing other politicians locally being connected to their network.
That tells you that as a country we are not doing enough to deal with this drug menace.
The Akasha case is a classic example where we as a country have failed completely. But when they were extradited to the US, within that short period we have seen convictions and others connected to them also linked to the case. The US will seize and auction their properties as part of a plea bargain.
The government should review the laws to deal with the drug menace. Drug trafficking should not be an offence where suspects can access bail. That is Haki Africa's position.
Those charged with drug trafficking should not be let out before their cases are concluded.
The Haki Africa Executive Director spoke to the Star