A night of drinking in Meru’s Igembe North turned tragic after two people reportedly died and five others were left fighting for their lives in hospital after consuming suspected illicit alcohol on Wednesday, November 5.
According to Meru County Commissioner Jacob Ouma, the victims were drinking at a local den when the incident occurred. He confirmed that the five survivors were in critical condition.
“A few days ago, we held a baraza in Mutuati and agreed that chiefs and their assistants would help us fight illicit brew. I’m saddened that instead of fighting alcohol, it is now fighting us,” Ouma said.
Visibly frustrated, the commissioner blamed local administrators including chiefs, assistant chiefs, police officers, and the Officer Commanding Station (OCS) for failing to act decisively against the illegal trade.
“Today, we have two people dead and five in hospital after consuming alcohol whose source and composition we don’t even know. This means people have failed in their duties,” he said sternly.
Ouma ordered the immediate transfer of all officers stationed at the nearby police post, directing the regional police commander to deploy a new team and take over investigations into the type of brew consumed.
In videos circulating online, the illicit alcohol appears to have been brewed and stored in filthy 20-litre jerricans at a rundown, unhygienic location a chilling reminder of the dangers facing communities battling cheap, unregulated liquor.
The incident comes just months after Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen reinstated eight local administrators in Kirinyaga County who had been suspended last year following another alcohol poisoning tragedy that claimed 20 lives.
Murkomen, speaking during a Jukwaa la Usalama forum in August, said the officers three chiefs and five sub-chiefs from Mwea West had “suffered enough” after their interdiction.
The latest Meru deaths now renew concern over the country’s persistent struggle with illicit brews, which continue to claim lives despite repeated crackdowns and pledges to tighten enforcement.
