Father-in-law complained of back pain, poor eyesight before he passed away

By  JOE KIARIE

Details are emerging of what seems to be a cover-up by provincial administrators after tens of people died after reportedly consuming a lethal brew in Nairobi.

Residents of Njiru area of Kasarani Constituency say at least 32 people died in just five days after consuming liquor laced with methanol a month ago.

But authorities insist that only five people lost their lives. We have independently established that the official figure is far below the actual fatalities.

A visit by The Standard On Saturday to the area reveals a gloomy situation. At Silanga village, where the fatal drinking den was located, the community is still in mourning after the deaths of 19 relatives and friends, who succumbed to the toxic liquor.

12 other casualties are said to have come from the neighbouring Maili Saba, Ngomongo and Mwengenye areas. The decomposing body of 20th victim, a middle-aged man, was recently discovered in his house at Reli. He lived alone and had not been seen for three weeks.

Situation aggravated

The proprietor of the den, commonly known as Njoki, is said to have introduced the toxic liquor on Sunday June 30. Those who consumed it over the next few days would later complain of severe abdominal, back and head pains.

“My father-in-law was a drinker and used to frequent the den. After taking the brew at around midday on Monday, July 1, he looked sickly. He said he could not see clearly and complained of severe back pain,” Susan Karago says of her father-in-law, Boniface Makumi.

The 86-year-old was taken to Mama Lucy Hospital the next day when the situation aggravated, only to be pronounced dead on arrival. Ironically, the drinking den remained open to unsuspicious consumers despite news spreading that the liquor had turned deadly.

This is despite the fact that a police post overlooks the den from just 500 metres away, with the Assistant Chief’s office also located nearby.

Joseph Kamau, a father of one, took the drink on Tuesday, July 2. “I heard him groan in pain at midnight and upon checking, found him sweating on the floor, having fallen off his bed. We took him to Mama Lucy Hospital where he was pronounced dead on arrival,” explains his mother, Veronica Njeri.

Julius Gachuru, 29, who was laid to rest on July 13 (Saturday), took the liquor the next day and like many other colleagues, breathed his last at the Mama Lucy Hospital. Other victims were referred to Kenyatta National Hospital (KNH) where some also succumbed to the effects.

Among them was Nancy Njoki, 27, who was transferred to the referral hospital on the evening of Thursday, July 4, and died the next day. Njoki died alongside two of her next-door neighbours.

 Action to curb vice

Furious that no action was being taken to curb the death trail, residents took the law into their hands on Wednesday July 3, razing down the drinking den and beat up the owner.

Shockingly, the proprietor lost her husband James Kimani, her father Njuguna Karumba and her aunt Lucy Wamaitha to the deadly liquor. Mr Karumba was buried on the same day as Agnes Mukami, a next-door neighbour.

Kasarani MP John Njoroge confirmed to The Standard On Saturday that the liquor killed at least 18 people in his territory.

“I gave Sh20,000 each to 18 affected families for burial preparations,” he recalls. “A number of other people died but they were from outside my constituency.”

We have learnt that part of the money originated from individuals in the Office of the President, signaling efforts by the Government to cover up the magnitude of deaths. But why did the local administrators and the police refuse to act even as the toxic brew slowly claimed lives? Some locals claim the area chief, his assistant and police officers from neighbouring police stations work in cahoots with the brewers, from whom they regularly collect bribes.

“This is why they could not blink an eye even after reports of the deaths went round,” says a local, who claims to have personally alerted Njiru DC, Mr Peter Thuku, on the sale of the killer brew in the area.

“Even before the first death was reported, I had realised that the effect of the brew on consumers was strange. I reported to the DC on Monday, July 1, yet nothing was done despite a promise to act,” he says. Mr Njoroge, the area MP, says the local police and provincial administrators did not seem bothered at all when he went to inquire about the number of casualties as well as their failure to crackdown on the brewers.

“They were grossly uncooperative,” he says. “I understand that brewing cartels have been bribing them but I have given them a few days to act failure to which I will mobilise the public to close down all the unlicensed dens selling ‘poison’.”

Reached for comments, Mr Thuku  insisted there were only five alcohol-poisoning casualties, and that the rest may have died of natural causes.

“This is a slum and very many people die due to natural causes,” he insists. Asked on his failure to respond to early warnings, the DC says his team was already conducting raids on other beer dens in the neighbourhood where he states they seized 5,000 litres of illicit liquor.

Thuku says the victims took the brew in a hideout, although residents refute the claims saying the den in which they took the brew was among the most popular in the area.The DC does not, however, deny claims of some provincial administrators colluding with the brewers.

Corruption allegations

“Corruption allegations are rife but any DO, chief or sub chief who colludes with the brewers will be instantly sacked,” he says.

Njiru Location Chief and Saika Sub-Location Assistant Chief both refused to divulge the number of casualties, instead referring us to higher authorities.

“We are not allowed to address the press. Only the DC or the DO can talk about the deaths,” said the chief, who identified himself as a Mr Mbai. But the Sub-Chief, Mrs Catherine Wanjiku, was quick to deny corruption claims. “There is no corruption here. During a crisis, people have to point fingers as is the case now. But proceeds from chang’aa are cursed and it is something I will never accept as a compromise,” she asserts.

She claims the killer brewer, and others in the area, have been evading crackdowns by selling the liquor at night, and also in the form of take-aways. The brewer is still at large.