GOVERNMENT TO CRACKDOWN ON ILLICIT ALCOHOL, MINING IN WESTERN KENYA

The national government has launched a sweeping operation to stamp out illicit alcohol brewing and unregulated mining across Western Kenya.
Transport and Roads Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen announced the crackdown during the 41st Jukwaa la Usalama meeting in Siaya Town. He said a multi-agency team comprising the police, Kenya Defence Forces and intelligence units will move to dismantle illegal chang’aa brewing dens, curb smuggling along the Kenya–Uganda border and end the chaos linked to outlawed gangs.
Murkomen warned that rampant illicit alcohol consumption is fuelling crime, gender-based violence and other social ills. He directed county administrations and chiefs to close unlicensed outlets and arrest offenders.
On mining, the CS said the Ministry of Mining will be strengthened to regulate artisanal miners by organising them into cooperatives. This, he noted, will protect lives, safeguard the environment and enable the government to collect revenue while curbing conflicts around mineral sites.
The government aims to complete the county-level security forums by Friday, September 19, as part of a wider plan to tighten law enforcement and protect communities in the region.