A mother's agony as illicit brews take a toll on families

Ms Mercy Njoki, 57, of Kavote village, Kirinyaga County. Her pleas to have illicit liquor dens closed have fallen on deaf ears. [PHOTO:MUNENE KAMAU/STANDARD]

For Mercy Njoki of Ndunduini in Kirinyaga East Sub-County, the ongoing government crackdown on illicit brews is godsend.

The 57-year-old is hopeful that after the crackdown, the dens that serving illegal liquor near her home will be driven out.

This could mark a major turning point for her family, having seen her children lose control of their lives because of alcoholism. He first born son Muchiri took to drinking, sold his home and deserted his wife and child.

"Muchiri was married and had a child but the wife and my grandchild left after he became a habitual drunkard and neglected his marital responsibilities," Njoki said.

When Muchiri ran out of cash, he sold off his property to raise money to buy liquor.

A sorrowful Njoki narrated how Muchiri leased out a farm she had allocated him. She says the son is now destitute and cannot live on his own.

"He has turned my kitchen into his house and sometimes, I am forced to stay outside to avoid seeing him in unclothed. In our culture, this is an abomination,"  she said.

She is squarely blaming county administrators for turning a deaf ear on her cries to have the nearby drinking dens destroyed.

''They collude with brewers of the illicit liquor and no matter how often we complain, they contemptuously dismiss us,"  she said.

Njoki is glad to finally see action against the illegal brewers.

She is also pleased with Kiriyaga East Sub-County administrators and Gichugu MP Njogu Barua for publicly stating that civil servants would not be allowed to run a liquor business.

"This will certainly dissuade public servants from engaging in this illegal trade which has destroyed an entire generation of young people," Njoki said.

Njoki's situation reflects the plight of thousands of parents in a region where youths have taken to heavy drinking.

The problem appeared to be quite prevalent in rural areas and informal settlements although most families we sought rebuffed our attempts to interview them. 

"Just leave us alone. It is not a big problem as most of these young people are without jobs and are mostly idle," said a man at Muriranja trading centre in Murang'a.

The clergy are worried about the effects of alcoholism in the region.   "This is a disaster which needs to be addressed. We are losing an entire generation of youths," said Fr John Mbai, a priest in Nyeri.

Mbai said what was being sold to residents "was poison and not alcohol."

Statistics from the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada)  indicate that alcohol abuse is prevalent in Central Kenya with  Kiambu, Nyeri and Kirinyaga leading in recent surveys.

One survey found that Kiambu had the highest number of consumers of illicit brews at 75.8 per cent, followed by Nyeri at 61 per cent.