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{
    "id": 75752,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/75752/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 223,
    "type": "other",
    "speaker_name": "",
    "speaker_title": "",
    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Heroine has emerged as a killer drug to many Kenyan youth especially in urban areas, along the Coast and in Nairobi. Nationally, heroine is consumed by 0.1 per cent of the population. The highest consumption is in the Coast Province with 0.4 per cent. Nairobi and Central provinces have 0.2 per cent consumption while the rest of the provinces have less than 0.1 per cent consumption. We have become a significant transit hub for cocaine destined for North America and Europe. Mr. Speaker, Sir, this organized crime is stealing the future of our youth, making nonsense of our massive investment in education. It is undermining marriages and destroying families. It is also undermining our national development, hampering our governance, eroding trust in our institutions and is constantly testing the international confidence in our country’s future. Mr. Speaker, Sir, there is evidence that international drug cartels operate in the country. They operate as loose networks with limited membership. Occasionally, they compete with each other, but often, they co-operate with other criminal networks to carry out their trade. They have links with other drug cartels in other cities of the world. These cartels, although run almost exclusively by foreigners, have recruited Kenyans into their networks as agents. The Kenyan agents tend to be prominent personalities, mostly to provide protection. Some members of our key security and other governance institutions are among the recruits. Mr. Speaker, Sir, it is a matter of serious concern that drug money has in recent years found its way into our public life. It is being used to buy influence in politics and there is concern that drug money may be financing elections. This trade in drugs is going hand in hand with money laundering, trafficking of humans, natural resources, gangs and trade in counterfeits. There is some link between availability of and trade in drugs and the many extortion rackets emerging in our country. This trade is tied directly to the culture of impunity that for too long had held a sway in the senior political and business classes in Kenya. Most importantly, if left unchecked, the clout of the traffickers could surmount the will of the Kenyan people for change. It can defeat the promise of the new Constitution for a better, transparent and more prosperous Kenya. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the names of the drug kingpins in Kenya are among the nation’s worst kept secrets. We are not publicly releasing these names because they are part of ongoing investigations. It is, however, incumbent upon all political leaders to speak out against the traffickers and isolate them. Drug trafficking and other organized crimes are devastating our economy, breaking our families and tearing apart our moral fabric. We have indications that trafficking of women and children is linked to drugs trade and is growing in our country. We have information of young girls aged between ten and 15 being sold into slavery for as little as US$600. Mr. Speaker, Sir, all this illegal trade is intricately tied to drug trafficking and it is costing us dearly. Widespread trade in counterfeits and other smuggled goods is costing our economy billions of shillings annually. It also undermines our manufacturing and growth. Criminal networks linked to drugs are defrauding the public through tax evasion at our airports and ports, while they flood our markets with illegal imports. Mr. Speaker, Sir, the drug traffickers are endangering our national security by trafficking also in small arms. Since the beginning of the year, there have been several seizures of arms destined for various parts of the country. We now know that often those being seized are mere messengers and not the real traffickers. These organized lords of"
}