- Gachagua had earlier told the police, chiefs, and their assistants to work and deliver results.
- The Deputy President has been at the forefront of fighting illicit brew in Kenya, particularly in the Mt Kenya region the Rift Valley.
Image: DPCS
Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua has said that he will sack 100 chiefs by December 31, this year over what he termed as laxity in combating the sale of illicit brew.
The DP said that the names of those to be fired had been agreed upon by himself, Interior Cabinet Secretary Kithure Kindiki and Principal Secretary Raymond Omollo.
"I don't want to sack chiefs but I want before Christmas in the whole country to sack about 100 chiefs so that they can be an example to others who are not working,” Gachagua said on Sunday.
The DP added that the list will be finalised by December 12, before the mass firing can commence.
“I love chiefs but I love the young people more," Gachagua said.
Commending the fight against illicit brew, the DP stated that the sale of illicit brew in Nandi County had reduced by 70 per cent but asked the County Commissioner not to relent until it was eradicated completely.
“County Commissioner, can you call your chiefs and your village elders and agree,” Gachagua said.
Gachagua has been at the forefront of fighting illicit brew in Kenya, particularly in the Mt Kenya region and the Rift Valley.
Gachagua explained that he had concentrated his efforts on the two regions because, in his opinion, they are the most affected.
The DP has been spearheading a campaign to end illicit brews in the country saying its continued misuse was likely to wipe out future generations.
Gachagua had earlier told the police, chiefs, and their assistants to work and deliver results.
He has been categorical that administrators who are not ready to deliver on the mandate will be sacked.
In June, at least 5,995 liquor outlets were closed down by the government in the ongoing nationwide crackdown.
The Ministry of Interior said that the affected premises were found culpable of serious safety breaches and failure to fully comply with essential legal requirements.
The ministry said 43,708 outlets had been assessed whereas 37,713 have been found compliant and cleared to continue with operations.
Rift Valley had the highest compliance score where 23,735 liquor businesses have been cleared.
The Eastern Region and Nairobi followed a distant second and third with 5,708 and 3,315 liquor outlets cleared respectively.
Central region had 1,827, Nyanza 1,217 while Western has had 1,153 liquor businesses which have been found to be compliant.
The Coast region had only 706 stores which have been cleared while North Eastern had 52 liquor premises which have been declared compliant.
While speaking in Meru in July, the DP said, "Here in Meru, how many chiefs and Assistant chiefs do you have? When we fire 10 percent of them there is no problem. Some will not work as we instruct them, we will have to show them the door."