Tensions flare in Mathira as MP Wamumbi challenges DP Gachagua on bar shutdowns

The MP spoke while meeting with pub owners in Karatina town who have been affected by the closures.

According to the MP, the closure of the bars has impacted other businesses that rely on them to stay afloat.

"When my people have been oppressed, I will speak, when I see they are about to finish Karatina, I speak,  that is the job the people who elected me gave me," the MP said. 

The MP contended that some of the pub owners had taken out large loans to start their businesses and were now on the verge of being auctioned, while others were suffering from massive rent arrears.

The MP also called on the Mathira East and West District County Commissioners, as well as the Karatina OCPD, to stop harassing the business owners.

The outspoken MP demanded that any officials, including local chiefs, sent to shut down bars carry a letter explaining the closure.

Businesspeople who spoke at the forum called for the bars to reopen, claiming that the closure was affecting others, particularly bartenders and hawkers who sell their wares inside the drinking establishments.

Local MCAs however read malice into the war on illicit liquor, now pitting the country's second-in-command against his area MP. 

According to them, the MP is being used by forces seeking to weaken the DP's fight against illegal spirits and substance abuse.

The latest development comes just a day after Gachagua criticised some leaders, including the Ministry of Interior, for opposing his initiative to end the illicit brew menace in the Mt. Kenya region.

Gachagua claimed that those who oppose the fight are tarnishing President Ruto's legacy, particularly now that the fight against illicit drugs has gained traction.

Gachagua played an important role in Wamumbi's election as Mathira MP in 2022, as he was set to succeed him when Ruto chose him as his running mate.