Angry residents in Nyeri and their leaders destroyed 34,000 bottles of beer worth Ksh4 million confiscated by police in Karatina town last week.
Led by area Member of Parliament Eric Wamumbi and Nyeri Senator Wahome Wamatinga, the residents broke into a store in one of the government offices where the beer had been stored and destroyed it by pouring it down and destroying the bottles.
The residents assembled at the offices and when the Mathira East acting Deputy County Commissioner (DCC) failed to show up, they went and broke down the store where the beer had been stored, removed the cartons and crates containing the beer and destroyed it.
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The residents, mainly women, said that they cannot allow a replica of what happened in Kirinyaga County where police sold exhibits of such brews resulting in the death of more than twenty people.
"We as women will not allow greedy people to finish our young men. It has been a pain seeing our children wasting away due to alcohol and we will not sit down and watch as they die," a resident said.
Wamumbi said the nabbed beer is the same that killed several people in Kirinyaga early this month and he vowed that he will not allow the alcohol to find its way in his constituency.
"As the area MP, I cannot allow what happened in Kirinyaga to happen here. We had intelligence that this consignment could be brought back into the market after it was nabbed and that is why we decided to destroy it and ensure no one consumes it," Wamumbi said.
Wamumbi said that he is ready to face manufacturers of the brews in legal battles due to his action saying that no person will be allowed to die from illicit brews as long as he is in office.
"If it means being prosecuted for preventing deaths caused by illicit brews, then I'm ready to face the law as my good deeds will speak for me," he said.
Nyeri senator
On his part, Nyeri Senator said that they will continue destroying such brews since they cannot allow any more deaths and that they will fully support Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua in the fight against illicit brews.
"I want to warn those selling such brews we are coming for you, we know most of you and your children cannot consume what you produce yet you want it consumed by our people. We are not going to allow you any more," the Nyeri senator said.
Wamatinga said that they would be destroying every suspicious alcohol and would also break into the bars selling killer brews.
Women who participated in the destruction said that are happy that now their sons and husbands are safe from brews of death.
The destruction comes hot on heels after Gachagua said that they will not allow sales of killer brews in the Mt Kenya region.
Gachagua, who was speaking over the weekend, said that he will not allow residents to die from killer brews adding that a multi-agency team is working on some modalities to tame their production.
Police in Nyeri last week seized the consignment at a store in Karatina town saying that the sale of the brews was stopped by the county security team.
Meanwhile, the company that manufactures the two brands that were destroyed, Patiala Distillers, has said their products are legitimate and have been okayed by government agencies.
"As a company, I want to assure Kenyans that our products are of the highest quality and have been certified by the agencies concerned," Jonathan Munene, the brand protection manager, said.
He said that after the alcohol was confiscated, the company provided all the documents required and the alcohol was destroyed as they awaited the report from the Kenya Bureau of Standards as they had already taken samples.
Munene said that they have reported the matter to the authorities.
