7 die after consuming local brew in Kenya

About seven persons died and five others got hospitalised on Wednesday after consuming toxic brew in Thika town of central Kenya’s Kiambu County.

Dominic Gicheru, Kiambu county chief public officer, said the deceased had been on a drinking spree since Monday.

“It is unfortunate that such a tragedy happened in Kiambu while a crackdown on illicit brew was still underway,” he said.

Some survivors said they bought the drinks from motorcycle taxi operators who collected it from the roadside near a local hotel.

The taxi operators took the brew to the county’s Kiandutu slum where it was sold at give-away prices.

About 30 people, including women, reportedly took the drink while eight cartons are said to still be in circulation in different shops in Thika.

It is not clear where the brew originated from.

Most of the victims who are casual labourers, cyclists and public transport operators reside in Thika and Kiandutu slums.

Upon consumption, they were said to have started feeling dizzy, developed stomachaches, headaches and loss of appetite.

Some of them started to lose sight before succumbing to death, recalled the survivors.

Residents, especially in central Kenya, have said local administration personnel were being compromised by brewers, who are carrying out business in the open without being arrested.

The government launched a crackdown on illicit brews across the country soon after some incidents in 2014 with several people being charged for manufacturing the deadly spirits.

Home brew is popular among Kenyans because it is cheap and extremely strong.

Traditionally, the ingredients used in brewing the drinks range from fermented corn and sorghum meal to juice from coconut and sugarcane.