Gov’t Announces Strict Rules For Schools During Opening Period
On Saturday, December 7, the administration promised to crack down on drug peddlers and traffickers who sell bhang to schoolchildren.
While addressing Kenyans at the Chepsaita Cross Country Run, Deputy President Kithure Kindiki gave the declaration, stating that the government intends to eliminate drug traffickers in the Rift Valley region and, by extension, Kenya.
At the same time, he decried reports of growing hard drug use and sales, promising that the government will make strict efforts to eradicate the vice.
“Those who are selling drugs to the young people of Kenya are enemies of Kenya. I want to assure you today of the government’s stand towards combating the sale of drugs that promote drug abuse and hamper the progress of our young people in Kenya,” Kindiki asserted.
“On behalf of the government, I want to declare today that we will fight against such people and we will succeed,” he added.
ELDORET CITY, UASIN GISHU COUNTY, KENYA
— Kithure Kindiki (@KindikiKithure) December 7, 2024
SATURDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2024
Every person, irrespective of their profession or talent requires education to thrive. The theme of this year's Chepsaita Cross Country 'Run for Education ' is apt. Education is the greatest equaliser of all… pic.twitter.com/AbxRapFaVa
Kindiki, referring to his stint as the Interior Cabinet Secretary, emphasized that the government will apply the harshness meted out to bandits who decimated the North Rift to deal with the drug traffickers.
“In my time as the Interior CS we waged a way against those dangerous criminals (bandits) who were destroying the future of our country and managed to make great progress,” he noted.
“The same energy that we used to destroy those characters and criminal groupings is the same energy we are going to use to dismantle criminals who are selling drugs like bhang to our school-going children,” Kindiki asserted.
Drug misuse in schools has been a problem for years.
According to the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), a significant proportion of secondary school pupils have tried various substances such as alcohol, tobacco, khat, prescription medicines, and cannabis.
A 2019 poll indicated that 23.4% of secondary school students have used drugs or alcohol at least once, with alcohol, tobacco, and khat being the most readily available substances in the school setting.
Furthermore, Kindiki used the opportunity to lay down the law on the country’s growing number of doping cases.
In 2024, the Anti-Doping Agency of Kenya (ADAK) provisionally disqualified 33 athletes from various sports for doping infractions.
As of October, the World Athletics Federation had banned 11 Kenyan athletes from competing.
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“There are people who are out to taint the great reputation and brilliance of our sports sector in Kenya,” he stated.
“These people are those who go out to source for performance-enhancing drugs to give to some of our athletes and sportspersons to give them an unfair advantage during competitions.”
“I want to say this. The greatest enemy to Kenya’s dominance in sports, especially in athletics, is the characters who are selling performance-enhancing drugs. These people promote doping and make our sportsmen and women compromise on their standards,” he maintained.
“The government will stand firm and will fight all those criminals that are spoiling our sports by introducing doping to our athletes,” Kindiki averred.
Gov’t Announces Strict Rules For Schools During Opening Period
