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NAIROBI, Kenya, Jun 10 – President Uhuru Kenyatta has ordered security forces to deport all foreigners suspected of trafficking drugs in the country.

The Head of State, who was speaking at the opening of the 2nd National Conference on Alcohol and Drug Abuse on Monday, put the country’s law enforcement agencies on notice saying the foreigners should be sent packing.

Over 20 foreigners, including controversial Nigerian businessman Antony Chinedu who was facing drug-related charges, have been deported since June 1 when the president first issued the order.

“I have already given a directive that all foreigners who are either suspected or deal with drug trafficking be deported to their own countries to do their business there. They do not need to be here,” he stressed.

A visibly irritated Kenyatta further demanded to know what concerned government officers had done to curb drug abuse with the resources they already have.

He also gave County Commissioners three months within which they are required to get back to him with a detailed report on the actual measures they will have taken in the fight against drugs in their respective counties.

Kenyatta argued that it was time to move the rhetoric from boardrooms to the streets noting that underage children were accessing drugs while rogue law enforcers turned a blind eye.

“We have heard a lot of very interesting speeches including my own with a lot of big promises but we must ask ourselves what are we doing with the resources that we have?’” he asked.

According to the National Authority for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA), 14 percent of Kenyans consume alcohol while 5.5 percent of these are alcoholics.

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NACADA CEO William Okedi said the survey conducted in 2012 also found that nine percent of Kenyans smoke tobacco while 4.5 percent of these are addicted.

Okedi also expressed concern over the increased use of shisha, second generation distilled alcohol and muguka – a potent version of miraa.

“We have a phenomenon of shisha. It is a mild type of tobacco and it is mostly associated with the elite. Samples taken by NACADA indicate that traffickers are now lacing shisha with narcotics like ecstasy,” he said.

The president however said he was tired of the grim statistics on drug abuse and related deaths.

“I will no longer entertain a scenario where we are just given statistics of the number of deaths or the number of people who have become drug addicts,” he warned.

Okedi had also proposed the establishment of an inter-ministerial committee to fight the menace in addition to calling for the establishment of more rehabilitation facilities.

Kilifi Governor Amason Kingi also implored the government to set up more public rehabilitation centers noting that most of those at the coast region were private.

Nairobi Governor Evans Kidero said he had already cracked down on dens that brew illicit drinks in Makadara constituency promising not to relent in the fight.

