Embu village buries 38 victims of killer brew

By JOSEPH MUCHIRI

EMBU COUNTY: The 38 coffins were laid side by side, as if to symbolise unwavering comradeship even in death, with portraits revealing the identities of the victims of the killer brew that devastated Shauri Yako slums in Embu County.

Their lives were snuffed out by a common drink, which perhaps some of them shared from a bottle or glass.

Their remains, which were lined up in front of stunned villagers and a retinue of Government officials, radiated the full horror of alcoholism and the ferocity of greed among the merchants of death who distributed the killer drink.

The anguish and sense of loss written on the faces of the spouses, children, relatives and friends of the deceased, bore the ring of the savage cruelty and sense of helplessness alcohol abuse has wrought on the country, further fuelling the gales of poverty and social decay sweeping breadwinners away from our villages and towns.

Last Monday evening, they had cheerfully passed by the drinking den aptly named Shauri Yako (It is up to you) for the routine drink on their way home. Except on the fateful day they unwittingly drank poison and 43 in Embu ended up, not in their beds, but on the cold slab at the morgue.

Authorities said the illicit brew had 75 per cent of the deadly industrial chemical, methanol, enough to ravage and shut down all human organs.  During the requiem mass at the Embu Stadium Monday, a health official demonstrated the deadly corrosive effect of the banned drink, Countryman, which discoloured a piece of liver dissolved into it. 

And as mourners followed proceedings during the solemn event, the unspoken yet disturbing concern was that the merchants of death are still roaming free.

UNSCRUPULOUS PROFITEERS

More worrying are reports that some 2,000 banned drinks are still out there in the market, being distributed by unscrupulous profiteers who probably watched the television footage of the final mass in Embu without their conscience being pricked, for all they aspire for is money and more money.

The Government interdicted 52 public officers including two Chief Executive Officers over the consumption of the illicit brew that claimed at least 81 lives last week in five counties. A sombre mood hang over the crowded stadium as mourners broke into tears when the caskets bearing the remains of their loved ones were paraded. More than 1,000 people attended the ceremony. Families of the deceased broke down as the ceremony wore on, perhaps unable to come to terms with the fact that their loved ones were no more.

Embu Senator Lenny Kivuti, Deputy Governor Dorothy Nditi, Woman Representative Rose Mitaru, Manyatta MP John Muchiri, Mbeere South MP Mutava Musyimi, National Campaign against Drug Abuse (Nacada) chairman John Mututho, Embu Deputy Speaker Ibrahim Swaleh, Eastern Regional Commissioner Clare Omolo and Embu County Commissioner Amos Gathecha were among those present.

To demonstrate the deadly effect of some of the brews, Embu Health Chief Officer Peris Nyaga immersed a piece of liver in a transparent glass bearing the Countryman spirit and in a minute it turned white.

Curiously, the spirit had a sticker showing certification by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs).

Speaker after speaker demanded that someone should be held responsible for the deaths and stringent measures enforced to avoid a repeat of the tragedy. The unprecedented number of deaths came less than two years after another lethal brew killed 14 people from Muraru area in Mbeere South.

“When the 14 people died at Muraru, we discussed it with the police and Nacada and swore that efforts would be put in place to prevent any more loss of lives to lethal brews. I urge each leader to take responsibility to stop any more deaths,” said Rev Mutava Musyimi.

He stressed on the need to empower jobless people especially the youth to keep them away from lethal substances sold as alcohol.

“Our children have been forgotten by the Government. I am urging Governors to build village polytechnics where school dropouts can gain skills to improve their lives. In the budget committee we have allocated Sh5million for a village polytechnic in each constituency and we call on the Governors to back our efforts,” Rev Mutava said.

Muchiri asked Nacada to build a rehabilitation centre in each constituency using money collected from liquor licences.

“Some people took the alcohol believing it was harmless as it bore Kebs labels. Action ought to be taken to stop the police from taking bribes to condone preparation and selling of illegal alcohol,” he said.

 The Manyatta MP said Embu leaders would visit all the affected families and see how to help the orphaned children and those hooked on alcohol. Muchiri asked the Health ministry and county Governments to improve the capacity of hospitals to deal with such cases. He said some of the people who died had appeared fine when he visited them only to die the next day. 

Omolo said the Eastern region had lost 75 people who were at their prime ages to the brews. She said each family would get Sh50,000 from the Government to start an income-generating activity. Mututho announced that all wines and spirits and liquor businesses would now be required obtain a licence from Nacada. Kenya Wines Agencies, he said, had refused to get authorisation from Nacada and warned that the director risked being arrested.

He said no one was above the law with regard to implementation of alcohol laws. He said they would rehabilitate addicts, have them taken through the National Youth Service to be trained on certain courses and finally assisted to start income-generating activities.