Govt Declares War on Illicit Brews in Kirinyaga After Spate of Deaths

Multi-agency security teams combed through homesteads, kiosks and bush hideouts across Kirinyaga County on Sunday in a renewed government crackdown on illicit liquor that officials say has claimed at least six lives in the county over the past three weeks.

The operation, coordinated between the Directorate of Criminal Investigations, Kenya Police, the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) and Kirinyaga County enforcement officers, targeted known brewing dens in Mwea, Kerugoya and Kutus sub-counties — areas that have long been associated with chang'aa and busaa production.

Officers recovered dozens of jerricans of illicit brew and destroyed fermentation vats at several sites. Three suspects were arrested and taken to Kerugoya Police Station for processing. NACADA County Director Joseph Muchiri said the victims who died had consumed alcohol containing methanol at dangerous concentrations, a fact confirmed by preliminary toxicology results.

"The product that killed these people was not traditional brew. It was industrial-grade poison sold at the price of beer," Muchiri said. "We are tracing the supply chain to find out where the methanol came from."

Kirinyaga County Commissioner Josephine Onunga warned that the crackdown will be sustained and not a one-off exercise. "We have identified over 40 points in this county where illicit brews are sold. We will not stop until every one of them is shut down," she said.

Community leaders in Mwea expressed support for the operation but appealed for parallel programmes to provide alternative livelihoods for youth who brew and sell illicit alcohol out of economic desperation. "You cannot arrest your way out of poverty," said one ward administrator who asked not to be named. "We need rehabilitation, not just raids."