Two people have reportedly died and five others are currently hospitalised after they allegedly consumed illicit brew in Meru.
The seven were reportedly drinking at a den in Igembe North, Meru County, on Wednesday, November 5, when tragedy struck.
While confirming the incident, the Meru County Commissioner, Jacob Ouma, relayed that the five who were in the hospital were also in critical condition.
"A few days ago, we had a baraza here in Mutuati, and we agreed that every chief and assistant chief go back to their village to help us fight illicit brew. I'm saddened that instead of fighting alcohol, the alcohol is now fighting us," the commissioner lamented.
"Today we are here because there are two already dead and five others are in the hospital for taking a type of alcohol we are not aware of. This means that people have failed to fulfil their mandates."
As such, he went off on the administrators, including assistant chiefs, chiefs, police officers, and the Officer Commanding Station (OCS), accusing them of abandoning their duties.
As such, he ordered that all officers posted in the nearby police post be transferred and a new batch be brought.
"I want to tell the commander of the police to identify the police establishment within the area and remove everyone there. Then look for other police officers who will help these people," Ouma said.
Meanwhile, he also directed the police commander to lead investigations into the type of illicit brew taken by the victims.
In videos seen by Kenyans.co.ke, the bubbling thick brown brew was stored in dirty 20-litre containers at a dingy, unhygienic premises.
This comes just months after the Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen lifted the suspension of eight local administrators in Kirinyaga County, suspended by former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua last year, after 20 people died from alcohol poisoning in their localities.
Speaking at a Jukwaa la Usalama forum in the county on August 24, he claimed that the administrators had suffered enough after the interdiction.
The eight consisted of three chiefs and five sub-chiefs, and they all hailed from Mwea West.
