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"content": "Those are the challenges of young people. Some of them are pushed by their peers. Some may want to know why their fellow colleagues are excited all the time. They are told to try and end up taking kumi kumi or something that has been made using harpic. Some of them go for the methanol which is used at the mortuary so that they ferment their product very fast. The challenge we are facing is greed and wanting things to be done using shortcuts. Indeed, our grandmothers used to take chang’aa back home. If you look through the history of western Kenya, you will see that very few have died because of chang’aa, and very few have become blind because of chang’aa . So, the first thing we should do, as we empower the county governments, is to look at the modalities of how the local brew is done. I remember those days when we used to go to Nyalenda to see how chang’aa was being brewed. This was done using vapour. You will find that they used steam and this was pure. There was nothing like using harpic or the different detergents that we use. The manufacture of chang’aa in Nairobi is done in very dirty conditions. You will forgive me for saying this but you will hear some people say that they put in rats, and their underpants. They believe that if they do that, their husbands will never leave their compounds. So, they drink and keep on going back to drink. We need to talk about hygiene and ask ourselves whether our people are maintaining this. That is why these people have swollen bodies. The Senator for Homa Bay said that we need to exempt the brand Senator from this law. However, when some people take the Senator, their faces swell and you wonder what chemicals are being used on that drink. We have to be careful with what we think is good. Some of them react. Some move from using kumi kumi and when they move to the clean one, the body’s metabolism does not respond well. While looking at the Bill, let us agree that, indeed, we need an amendment that will ensure that County Governments take control to ensure that what is happening within their counties can be prosecuted well or well guided. The chiefs should advise our people well. This is one role that the chiefs have played well. When Mr. Mututho was proposing the first Bill, he thought that he was empowering chiefs to take care of this problem. However, we find ourselves with no eyes and asking that the lights be switched on. This is when one person moves from Kawangware, Embu, Makueni and Kajiado depots supplying the alcohol. As we speak today, we may not have taken all the data to know everybody who passed on because of what happened recently. So, as a Senate, we must ensure that there are safeguards. The procedures used to manufacture alcohol should be monitored. Alcohol is meant to be enjoyed at a level where the consumer still has sanity. When you go to Nyandarua, Murang’a and Gatanga, you will be surprised to see that there are no children who can join Standard One. This is a result of alcoholism. When you visit those areas you will be surprised to see most people drunk by 9.00 a.m. I remember the Senator for Migori, Dr. Machage, bringing a Motion declaring this as a national disaster, and we passed it in this Senate. Therefore, we need to ask ourselves whether this Bill is carrying the spirit of what we said during Sen. Machage’s Motion, and then amend it, so that we can take care of all the challenges that we talked about at that time. Mr. Temporary Speaker, Sir, when you visit schools, you will find that most of them have shops or kiosks. That is how drugs end up in schools. Even today in our estates, for example, in Kileleshwa, you will find a kiosk where just young people hang around. If you stop there, you will see wine and spirits being sold there. You wonder whether such kiosks are licenced to sell these spirits and whether the said wine and spirits are fit for human consumption. The electronic version of the Senate Hansard Report is for information purposes only. A certified version of this Report can be obtained from the Hansard Editor, Senate."
}