Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has indicated that he would not have become Kenya’s second in command had he not stopped abusing alcohol.
During a conference on combatting alcoholism and drug abuse in the Rift Valley region on Monday, Riggy G said he quit alcohol after embracing his Christian faith and undergoing a spiritual transformation.
“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 things have been going well for me,” Gachagua said.
He encouraged individuals who consume alcohol to contemplate giving it up, emphasizing that his current position as deputy president is a testament to the positive changes that can occur.
“That is how I am deputy president. I invite those who drink to consider dropping it and maybe your things will get better.” Said DP Gachagua.
Rigathi Gachagua at the same time issued a stern warning to law enforcement officers whom he accused of facilitating the proliferation of the problem by soliciting bribes from establishments where alcohol is consumed illicitly.
“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,” the DP said.
Gachagua also cautioned unscrupulous businesspeople who have been involved in the production of illegal alcohol in unclean distilleries, bottling it, and fraudulently selling it under authorized brand names.
“None of us has a problem with alcohol, but we have a problem with poison in the name of alcohol,” Gachagua said.
