A team of security chiefs in Trans Nzoia West Sub County have destroyed gambling machines that were impounded over the weekend in a crackdown carried out in Kitale town and its environs.
The region’s Deputy County Commissioner Charles Ocharo said the crackdown which is ongoing is geared towards ensuring they put an end to the illegal business which they linked to a series of petty crimes and domestic feuds.
“I call upon traders in the region who wish to operate a gambling business to seek certification by the Betting Control and Licensing Board (BCLB) failure to which they will face the full wrath of the law,” said Mr. Ocharo.
Ocharo claimed the illegal business that has been going on in various parts of the county was the cause of several homesteads continued wrangling as well as some of the married engaging in illegal acts as several children engage in the gambling game at a tender age leading to their school dropouts which in turn lead to deviant behaviors in the community as well as fathers engage in sale of their home products to engage in the illegal gambling games.
He however promised thorough crackdown of the machines in the county that he claimed has caused several incidents to spur up as a result of people engaging in the illegal games.
He appealed to chiefs in their respective areas of jurisdiction to make sure they apprehend all the suspects engaging in the game.
He however explained how a person may operate the business through engaging the licenses and betting companies which provides business licenses for any individual to operate claiming the ones confiscated from various joints that were in operations with several illegal operators had no license.
