Two Officers Doing A Great Job In The Fight Against Illicit Brews In Thika.

The crackdown on illicit killer brews in Central Kenya started in July last year seems to have slowed down in some parts of the region with drunk youth being seen staggering on the streets as early as 7am. In this second phase of the crackdown, several chiefs and their assistants from Mt. Kenyan region who have been accused of working with illicit liquor brewers and manufacturers of second generation alcohol have seen themselves facing the axe in the last few days.

Devolution and Planning Cabinet Secretary (CS) Mwangi Kiunjuri has reiterated that the government will not relent in the war against the manufacturing of illicit liquor and second generation alcohol adding that the government will wage war on the underground business, even if it meant firing police administrators who are complicit in the hazardous trade.

He further encouraged members of the public to continue volunteering information to administrators on the people involved in the illegal trade.

One area that has experienced some ruthless war against these brews is Makongeni Location in Thika West Sub-County.

Makongeni Chief Mr. Daniel Waiguru and Kianjau Sub-Location Assistant chief Mr. John Karanja have been two very outstanding officers in this fight since it was declared a national disaster. In what they have described as “Operation Linda Kofia Ya Chief” these two gallant officers have been able to nab so many illicit brewers, destroyed hundreds of litres of illicit brews as well as arresting bar owners who operated outside the stipulated ‘Mututho Time’.

Through co-operation with the residents, the two administrators have made it so difficult for these criminals to operate in Makongeni, Kiganjo and Kiandutu areas.

“We won’t allow the sale and consumption of the illicit brews to continue in our area. Some of these brews are prepared in very unhygienic situations thereby endangering the health of the users. We won’t allow a few greedy people to ruin the lives of our youth”, said Karanja via phone while speaking to Thika Town Today.

“I would like to thank our people for always alerting us where these people do their trade.

This has helped us so much in our raids which have been so far very successful,” he added.

True to his words, the residents we spoke to attested to fact that the two officers usually raided these breweries and alcohol dens even in the wee hours of the night.

A fact-finding mission by Thika Town Today in areas notorious for illicit liquor and second generation brews revealed a very bright picture as the residents were full of praise for the officers. Apart from one or two drunks that we came across, these places were clear of the nuisance of drunk youth that were previously a common factor in those areas.

The crackdown was informed by the observation that Central Kenya had been uniquely affected by alcoholism and proliferation of illicit brews which had led to a drastic drop in the productivity of young men in the region. There were numerous reports that indicated that fertility rates in the Central Region were noticeably dropping as a result of alcoholism among men, which had led to rising impotence.

Dubious alcoholic brands, most of them produced, marketed, sold and consumed in licensed establishments, were also discovered to have a debilitating effect, some even found to contain poisonous substances unfit for consumption. Their effects have sometimes been seen in the death of consumers, with the lucky ones escaping with blindness or lifelong health complications.