Over ten Chinese coin-slot gambling machines were on Friday burned by the Nyando Deputy County Commissioner Elijah Maranga over what he said was a habit ruining gamblers’ future.
According to the DCC, the illegal gambling machines were impounded in Ahero and Awasi towns.
Addressing the press during the exercise, Maranga insisted that it was illegal to use Chinese coin-slot gambling machines in the Sub-county.
The DCC stressed that the government banned the use of coin-slot gambling machines, and therefore, they remain illegal anywhere in the country.
He said most families have been broken, lives lost and youths involved in illegal acts as a result of gambling.
“We realized that the machines are not registered by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) during the crackdowns by a multi- agency security team conducted in December last year,” the Deputy County Commissioner said.
Illegal gambling machines, he said, are a significant threat to the community, as they tend to harbor criminal activities such as drug abuse, theft and general insecurity.
Maranga noted that they will not relent on the fight against illegal businesses which contribute to the rising number of juvenile gangs in the region.
“Criminals hide in these places where the machines operate to plan their criminal activities,” the DCC said.
The administrator described it as deeply troubling to witness schoolchildren becoming addicted to gambling, noting that some are even tempted to steal money from their parents to fund their gambling activities.
He said they have launched a heightened crackdown on unscrupulous business people operating the illegal gambling operations and would not give them room to continue spoiling the youth.
“We have decided to intensify the crackdown on these machines until we completely get rid of them from the sub-county so that we create a safe environment for the business people to conduct their businesses without any threat from the criminals,” he assured.
Further, Maranga added that the security agencies would also intensify crackdowns on illicit brews and drug substance abuse in the major towns of Ahero and Awasi.
“We aim to reduce the production, sale and consumption of these drugs,” he concluded.
The DCC was accompanied by the Nyando Sub-County Police Commander Isaiah Mose and the Nyando Sub-County Criminal Investigation Officer Chege Muniu, officers from the National Intelligence Service among other senior officers of the security team.
By Robert Ojwang’
