Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has admitted to being a drunkard in the past.
Speaking at a conference on eradicating alcoholism and drug misuse in the Rift Valley region on Monday, the deputy president said he had since quit drinking after becoming a ‘born-again’ Christian.
“The President, [Interior Cabinet Secretary Prof Kithure] Kindiki, and the rest of us, none has a problem with alcohol. I must admit I used to drink a lot before I got saved and since I stopped drinking my things have been very good,” Gachagua said.
Adding:
“That is how I am deputy president. I invite those who drink to consider dropping it and maybe your things will get better.”
The deputy president also put law enforcement officers on notice, accusing them of assisting the menace by seeking bribes and operating drinking establishments.
“We are very happy with police officers who are doing a very good job but we have a serious problem with a few of them who have a conflict of interest and have opened bars in the areas where they serve.
We have a problem with a few officers who are collecting protection fees; police officers who are supposed to arrest drunkards but they are more drunk,” Gachagua said.
He warned renegade businesses who have been creating illegal booze in filthy distilleries, bottling and marketing it as legitimate brands that the government will not hesitate to punish them.
“None of us has a problem with alcohol, but we have a problem with poison in the name of alcohol,” Gachagua said.
