Residents of Kanduyi are complaining of the increase in the number of gambling dens in the area, claiming that they have contributed to increased laziness in the County especially during this holiday period.
Speaking to West Media, the residents lamented that the gambling culture that has since ravaged the area has led to an increase in the number of theft cases as some naughty children steal money for gambling.
Winfred Wekesa is a mother of three. She complains that since children closed schools for the holidays, she has never had an opportunity to stay with her children at home. According to her, every day they go to gamble, only to appear very late in the night. Sometimes, as she says, they even steal some of her money to go and gamble.
“My children don’t even stay at home! Every morning, they wake up and go to gamble. I don’t even see them. Sometimes they even steal my money to go and gamble and when I ask them, they say that they will refund when they win and they have never refunded any!” She complained.
The gambling sites which require gamblers to deposit as low as 10 shillings for a chance of winning as much as sh. 1,000,000 or more have since attracted many gamblers in Kanduyi market who throng the cyber cafes and other gambling bases with hopes of winning loads of cash. Residents have also complained that the habit of gambling has made Kanduyi market inhabitable as throngs of children flood the betting sites every morning leading to human traffic in the market.
Henry Wepukhulu, a shopkeeper, complained about the gambling craze, especially among pupils who recently closed schools for holidays. He said that some children have totally forgotten their books but instead spend hours betting and this he said, will lead to very poor performances come next term, and he called upon the government to move with speed and tame the habit before it becomes a nightmare for the country.
“Nowadays the children don’t even want to read. All they ever ask for is money to go and gamble. I would like to call upon the government to come up with a law that would make this madness stop or else we are going to lose our children. I have instructed my children not to leave the house without my permission because I don’t want them to gamble,” he said.
Taming gambling
In a bid to tame the gambling craze that has not only affected Kanduyi but the entire country at large, Gem MP. Jakoyo Midiwo has proposed tough sanctions in a bid to curb the habit that seems to be mostly affecting Kenyan youths. In his bill, he proposes that betting should only be allowed to people who are 25 years or above, only a maximum of Kshs. 200 should be used for gambling and no person should be allowed to gamble on debt, among other tough regulations that he hopes will be implemented should MPs pass his bill.
However, the residents in Kanduyi appear to be divided over the bill’s validity as some of them think that gambling, especially among children can be stopped by a strong rule from parents.
“Parliament is always passing bills whenever we are faced with a crisis. The bill will not even help us that much,” said James Waswa, a resident of the area.
Another resident, Andrew, supports the bill, saying that it’s high time the government took action on gamblers. He laments that gambling has created a generation of lazy people and only a speedy move from the government can help restore sanity in the country.
“I hope the MPs will ascent to the bill. It will help us a lot in fighting gambling. The parents have failed, teachers have failed, even chiefs are taking a forefront in gambling. Only the government can help us.”
As the residents in Kanduyi keep on being divided on ways of tackling the massive gambling in the area and country, children continue to throng gambling sites with the hope of being overnight millionaires, which according to many is leading to the creation of a lazy generation.