The debate about John Mututho, the managing Director of the
national anti-drugs agency(NACADA) seemingly has no middle ground, you are
either for him or against him. He has caused quite a storm albeit in a tea cup
since his appointment, with alcohol lovers and their sympathizers taking on to
social sites to vent. Mututho has received enough stick already especially on twitter.
Is john Mututho just another grouching political looser with
an inflated opinion of himself or is he a hardworking and concerned Kenyan who
is committed to leave no stone unturned as much as drug abuse is concerned? Of
course, as with most things, the truth probably lies somewhere in the middle
First off, I would like to state here that alcohol and I have
no history and there are no prospects for future chemistry between us.
Therefore, there are no vested interests involved. I am doing just fine here
with a bottle of Lucozade for nourishment. Now I don’t normally get tempted to
write in about individuals and their work but John Mututho has become such a
regular feature on our TV screen and this has gone on for very long time now. It has been
very disconcerting for my 3 year old son.Isn’t it scary that his contorted face
will keep appearing on TV as long as he is still at helm of NACADA? I decided
to weigh into this debate because I feel that it hasn’t been given a fair crack
of the whip.
A bottle loving friend of mine was recounting to me the
ordeal he has endured and how passionately he hates John Mututho. Life to me has almost become unbearable,
he said, Mututho must be very 'mental',right?. I wouldn’t agree with that, not in the slightest. I thought he was
using hyperbole. He told me in no uncertain terms, how he hates the former
Naivasha Town MP. Well, I don’t think am capable of hate. I think hate is a
very strong word that should be reserved for war criminals.
It is my conviction,
that anyone calling for Mututho’s head at this moment is smoking something
not good. The poor guy has just been through enough nerve wracking and grueling
experience already.Mututho,we seem to forget so easily, lost an election and
has been jobless and out in the cold for a period of time.Furthermore, when he appeared before a parliamentary committee, he was
rejected out-rightly only to be cleared
by the national assembly in unclear circumstances . How much hate can one
person have to endure in this short life?
Give the old man a break.
Admittedly,no one grows up wanting to be John Mututho but we have to
give the devil his dues. Never before has anyone managed to raise so much
debate in this country about alcohol and its effects than John Mututho has in
such a short span of time. He has shown endless energy and unmatched zeal in
fighting the use of alcohol albeit in studios and news rooms. How he has
managed to so successfully create and paint this image of booze as some sort of
evil be fought tooth and nail is astounding. I have no doubt that to Mututho,
evil and alcohol fall in the same league as corruption and bestiality.He might
even think he is a messiah of some sort sent to save this drinking nation. He
might think he is, but I don’t buy it, thousands people in pubs and bars across
this country don’t believe it.
Back to my original point, it is Mututho’s blinded hatred for
alcohol that forms the basis of my opposition to his tactics. I should probably
get this out in the open from the first off, Alcohol and its effects and
benefits to our economy, are well documented and I don’t want to go there. But
to have adults policed around like school kids is disconcerting to anyone with
a sense of justice. Looking back when I was a child ,the sweetest part about
growing up, that I longed for was to be able to make my decisions and live with
the consenquences.Everyone needs to be given that chance, to be wrong even if
it means drinking oneself into stupor. I don’t think we need to take the road
of Iran or South Arabia.
They need not be our examples. Kenya is a democracy, atleast
our constitution provides for that, and our people have rights, yes unlimited
rights to free will and unmatched freedoms including freedom to have friends
over for a bottle of whiskey, what Mututho is threatening. Where on earth do
people get a license before throwing a party in your own house?
What Mututho needs to occupy his time with is to make sure fatal alcohol brands such as the
dreaded and now infamous Yokozuna are not only banned but completelyinaccessible on our markets.
It is the work of the government to protect consumers from harmful products.
What annoys me is that Mututho doesn’t seem to be doing anything about the use
and peddling of hard drugs at the coast.
I have lost count of
the hearts broken and lives utterly destroyed by cocaine in counties such as
Kilifi and Mombasa.
Do something about that John, I know you can (with love)
