Pubdate: Sun, 29 Jun 2008 Source: Daily Nation (Kenya) Copyright: 2008 Nation Newspapers Contact: http://www.nationaudio.com/News/DailyNation/Today/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/868 Author: Daniel Wesangula SAITOTI TO KENYANS: KEEP OFF DRUGS A cabinet minister has advised Kenyans against engaging in drug abuse and trafficking. Prof George Saitoti, the Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, warned on Saturday that the practice could jeopardise the country's efforts to attain both the UN's Millennium Development Goals and the Vision 2030. "Compounded by increasing HIV/Aids prevalence, poverty and insecurity, drug abuse could reverse any gains made in improving social, economic and political fronts," Prof Saitoti said in a speech read by assistant minister Orwa Ojode during the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking held at the National Youth Service College in Gilgil. The minister said people who involved themselves in drugs risked getting themselves into a state of hopelessness. He expressed concern that half of the world's drug abusers are aged between 10 and 19 years, a time when they are supposed to be productive in society. Prof Saitoti called for stern action to reverse the emerging trend. For his part, the Rev Wilfred Kogo of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa expressed reservations on the government's track record on the war against drug abuse. The Rev Kogo said that the Kenyan anti-narcotics legislation is weak, and that more needs to be done to empower Kenyans to manage drug abuse right from home. He said that the recent wave of unrest in secondary schools across the country was a sign that school children were being used in the sale and consumption of drugs. He, however, said that the war against drugs should not only be fought by the government but by the public as well. Illicit brews Speaking at the same function, the national co-ordinator of the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse Authority (Nacada), Mrs Jennifer Kimani, urged Kenyans to stop growing bhang and trading in illicit brews like chang'aa. She said NACADA will work with the police in the fight against drug abuse and trafficking. She also expressed concern over the growing number of Kenyans being convicted in foreign countries on drug trafficking charges. "In the recent past, a number of our youths are said to have been arrested in Africa and around the world where they are facing trafficking charges," she said. - --- MAP posted-by: Steve Heath