Mombasa Governor Abdulswamad Sharif Nassir has rubbished the two-week ultimatum issued by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua to Coast regional police bosses to arrest drug traffickers in Mombasa or face the sack.
Nassir says the difference between the past regime and the Kenya Kwanza government is the same, and that there is no political good will in fighting drugs in the Coast region.
Speaking at the Lohana Hall in Mvita Constitueny, Mombasa on Saturday, the Mombasa County Chief said, the government should act fast and tame drug traffickers in Mombasa and the entire Coast region.
He said drug menace has hugely affected the Coast youthful generation however, the government is doing very little in curtailing the security but social problem.
“We have to clearly undertand that fighting drugs follows three major steps, Supply reduction, Demand reduction and Harm reduction, the government left its mandate to non-state actors to work on the harm reduction but it has totally failed in cutting off the supply channels,” said Nassir.
The Governor, said that despite the government having the capacity and all the needed personnel to pursue drug traffickers and cartels countrywide, it has ignored such critical task.
“Don’t come here and tell us that you have given the police 14 days to nabb drug traffickers, we want to see them arrested and paraded in the public. We are tired of such empty promises,” Nassir told locals.
Nassir disclosed that he will present to the County assembly a motion to enable the county government constitute its own Anti-narcotic unit so as to accelerated the fight against drug trafficking in the county.
Nassir’s backlash against the Deputy President comes few days after the DP said the government will not relent in its fight against drugs in the country.
During his recent visit in Mombasa, DP Gachagua reiterated the need for security agencies to fearlessly fight drug traffickers so that the Coast region can be a drug free zone.
“We can’t have a Chief and drugs in the same vicinity, one has to go. Its either we remove the drugs from that particular area or we remove the Chief,” said DP Gachagua.
The DP noted that their has been total laxity among security agents in the region, warning them that they will not be transferred to a different area but will parmanently lose their jobs if they will not immediately act on the drug menace in Mombasa and the entire Coast region.