By Joshua Cheloti

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua will later this week be chairing a conference of all leaders and national government administration officers (NGAOs) from the Mount Kenya region.

The conference will be seeking to find solutions to runaway illicit brew and drug abuse menace.

According to the Deputy President, the situation has been a concern at the highest level of the country’s leadership.

He noted that there is need to act immediately.

“President @WilliamsRuto is equally concerned with this disturbing and sad situation; he has instructed me to take remedial action and brief him on how we, as leaders, intend to address it, we have to act now,” the DP said in one of a series of tweets.

He revealed that the conference will be held on April 14.

Gachagua expressed hope that out of the meeting, a solution to save the youth will be agreed upon, and which will have far reaching implications.

“…I have convened a conference on April 14, 2023, bringing together all the region’s leadership that will also include @ngaosKE and security officers,” he said.

The DP added, “It will be a defining moment whose outcome will have far-reaching implications to save our youth.”

Earlier in his tweets, the second in command admitted that the Mt Kenya region had borne the brunt of Illicit brew and substance abuse.

He singled out Nyandarua, Kiambu, Murang’a, Kirinyaga, and Nyeri counties as the most affected.

“The situation is so dire; we are staring at losing an entire generation to this menace,” Gachagua said.

“If we do not act now, an entire generation faces the risk of being wiped out in the next 10 years,” he added.

Gachagua further said he shared his concerns with the clergy in his Mathira rural home constituency who also agreed on the need to act.

Past efforts by the government and other stakeholders to rid the region of Illicit brews and drug abuse had not registered substantial success.