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Hon John Mututho, who was recently appointed the Chairman of the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), is a now a household name in Kenya for all the right or wrong reasons depending on which side of the debate you stand.
One of his major achievements in Kenyan politics was the implementation of Kenya’s first Alcohol Control Bill in 2010, though this did not go down well with his voters and drinkers country wide and led to him losing his political position. The act is also known as the Muthutho law in honour of his brother who died from alcoholism in 2007.
Mututho states that Africa as a whole is a victim of beverage companies who want to make a quick buck from its emerging markets like the rising middle class with disposable income, a huge youth market about to come of age and an informal sector so profitable the government wants to gain control of it – BBC
So does this make him a Saint? or why are most drinking Kenyans so against his policies?
Truth be told alcoholism is a major problem in Kenya that needs to be tackled seriously and as soon as possible. In some parts of the country, alcoholism has led to broken families and young men being unproductive and engaging in crime so as to afford some money for the next drink.
“Do we drink because we’re Kenyan or are we Kenyan because we drink?” Mututho once asked. That is truly the question that we should answer.