A distraught family in Kiambu County has faulted Governor’s Waititu’s ambitious ‘Kaa Sober’ initiative following the death of a man who was in the programme.
The deceased, Gabriel Njuguna, is said to have begun his battle with alcoholism after moving to Gakuyu village four years ago.
His cousin, Sabina Wanjiru, says that Njuguna was dismissed from the programme after a week after he was found to be using his daily wages to buy alcohol.
“They used to be paid Sh300 a day for cutting grass. They were discontinued because they used the money to buy alcohol,” said Wanjiru.
Njuguna’s mother, Mary Njoki, noted that his son worked at a shop where his employers consumed alcohol, a situation she says might have fuelled his addiction.
“I tried talking to him but it was all in vain because his employer kept alcohol at the shop. This made it hard for him to stop drinking because the alcohol was always available. He died outside the shop after vomiting,” said Njoki.
The family is faulting Waititu’s administration for allegedly implementing the ‘Kaa Sober’ programme without proper planning.
They argued that the daily wages paid to the recovering alcoholics for doing casual works in the county only made it possible for them to fund their drinking urges.
This comes a week after Waititu rewarded 5,078 former alcoholics with Sh100 Million after they successfully completed the rehabilitation programme.
