Waititu: I am uncivilised but effective
Kabete MP Ferdinand Waititu has defended his decision to raid bars in Kabete Constituency terming his actions as ‘uncivilised but necessary’.
Speaking to Willis Raburu during the Power Breakfast show on Citizen TV Monday morning, Mr Waititu lamented that illicit brews have rendered youths in Kabete and the larger Mount Kenya region useless.
He claimed that the residents begun the initiative to rid the area of illicit brew which he supported.
“Residents spotted the pick-up vehicle that was bringing the alcohol and threatened to torch it but I advised them against it, that’s when we resolved to raid the bars,” he said.
The legislator intimated that a majority of Kabete residents, including the clergy and women, were in support of his actions.
Asked whether he had tried using legal means before, Waititu admitted that he had tried but the move proved fruitless because the bars were legally licensed hence the owners could not be arrested.
“We did that out of desperation because the government could not solve our problem,” he said, adding that in the absence of a solution they would use any means necessary.
The MP stated that since his election, his constituency had lost ten youths to illicit brew, adding that when the life of a youth is lost to make a profit it is a ‘sin before God and man’.
He accused bar owners of greed saying their only concern is making a profit even at the expense of human life.
He said that the people selling the illicit brew are Kenyans from the Kikuyu community and they cannot sell it to other communities.
He promised to continue raiding bars because that’s what his electorate wants, saying “People can say anything but it’s the electorate who matter and I will stand by my people to fulfill the promise of dealing with illicit brew”.
Waititu on Friday led Kabete residents in raiding bars in the area, which he accused of ruining the lives of young people.
The move, however, received mixed reactions from members of the public with some praising it while others criticised it as the youths looted the bars and drunk the alcohol.
A member of the bar owners association also threatened to sue the politician for the wanton destruction of private property.
On his political ambitions, the Kabete MP confirmed his desire to vie for the Kiambu governor seat.
He expressed optimism in unseating the incumbent Governor William Kabogo, saying that it was the people’s decision to make and he believes they would choose him.
“I know he is going home,” he quipped.
