Chiefs and assistant chiefs in Kirinyaga who were suspended after the deaths of 17 people from illicit alcohol are set to get their jobs back.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, who toured the county, said the officers had been wrongly punished. He noted that they had been trying to fight the illegal brews but their work was frustrated once offenders were released by the courts.
“It was not the chiefs’ fault. They were fighting hard against the brews, but suspects are taken to court and freed. That is the real problem,” Murkomen said.
He confirmed that the process of reinstating the suspended officers is already underway and they will soon return to work.
The chiefs were interdicted last year on the orders of then–Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua after 17 people died in Kangai and Kandongu villages. Gachagua had accused them and local police of failing to deal with the problem.
The move raised concerns from some leaders and residents, who argued the administrators were unfairly blamed for a wider failure to control the trade.
