Muslims in Kenya Step Up War on Drugs
Muslim leaders in Coast Province, Kenya, plan to mobilize residents to boycott shops owned by businesspeople they suspect to be involved in drug trafficking.
Galgalo Bocha of the Daily Nation writes that The Council of Imams and Preachers of Kenya organizing secretary, Sheikh Khalifa Mohammed, said it was time for Coast people to stop enriching people who had made them suffer for decades.
Sheikh Mohammed also challenged residents to shun suspected barons in their neighborhood and turn down their sponsorship for community projects, including bursaries for students at various learning institutions.
He told the Saturday Nation on the sidelines of a drug abuse workshop at Baluchi Community Social Hall, which was attended by more than 50 imams: “These people are well-known killers living in our society. It is high time they were taught serious lessons. We shall ask people to shun them and boycott their businesses in protest against the death of our youth due to rampant drug abuse.”
Sheikh Mohammed took issue with Prisons and Probation departments for allegedly frustrating the fight against the drug menace in the region.
He blamed prison officials for allegedly colluding with drug barons to sneak drugs into prisons. The leader also accused probation personnel of recommending lenient punishment against peddlers.
“We are saddened by the state of affairs in these two State departments as officials have become latest saboteurs in this war for colluding with drug barons in a tactful style that ought to be stopped immediately by top people in both agencies,” he added.
A previous survey showed that 70 percent of inmates in Coast prisons were serving jail terms for drug abuse.
Sheikh Mohammed also challenged police officers to act on the list of suspected drug barons which his organization forwarded to them last year.
Last month, Internal Security minister George Saitoti directed district commissioners in the region to form anti-drug committees to help curb drug abuse.
