Killer brews back on the shelves as officials trade in blame game

North Rift, Kenya: With the number of people dying from intoxicated liquor in the North Rift on the rise, no specific Government agency has taken charge to avert further loss of life.

Last month, 28 people died from alcohol intoxication while more than 50 others were hospitalised with optical complications, back, chest and stomach pains after consuming alcohol laced with methanol. By mid-July, 15 people, including a banker, a laboratory technician and an assistant chief, had succumbed to   adulterated liquor in Nandi County.

In Uasin Gishu, a lecturer from a local institution of higher learning, two high school teachers, college students and a form one student were among the 13 who died after consuming the Meakins and Coffee Spirit liquor brands suspected have been laced with methanol by unscrupulous traders.

While authorities in Nandi County proposed harsh penalties for whoever is found trading in lethal drinks, those in Uasin Gishu convened a crisis meeting and issued an immediate ban on the sale of wines and spirits.

But despite such stringent measures, new alcohol-related deaths have been reported in Nandi and West Pokot counties. Two people from Kobujoi in Nandi died early this week after they allegedly consumed adulterated alcohol. Three others are still hospitalised at the Kapsabet Hospital with partial blindness.

Mathew Rotich, the Nandi County Executive Commissioner in charge of Health,  said among the dead is a local college student who had bought the drink from a dealer’s house. The ban on the sale of wines and spirits is still in force in the county.

The county administration has also disputed the Government Chemist’s results that gave a clean bill of health to Meakins, Magic Moments, Jambo Extra, Empire Premiere Gin, Coffee Spirit, Rum Royal, Idhako Country, Metropolitan, Bluemoon, Moonwalker, Horizon and Napoleon brands that have been linked to the death of the 15 people.

A report by the Kenya Bureau of Standards (Kebs) indicated that the said brands had high poisonous contents and failed the ethanol test. However, the Government Chemist’s report gave all the 13 brands a clean bill. Governor Cleophas Lagat said the county will probe the findings.

In West Pokot County, three people died on Wednesday and Thursday after they  consumed adulterated liquor, bringing the total number of alcohol related deaths in the North Rift region to 33. The victims are among several others who consumed the lethal brew said to have been packed in plastic containers and hawked in Endugh area of Sook division, West Pokot Sub-county.

Quality mark

Kapenguria District Hospital Medical Superintendent Paul Binot said one person died shortly after he was admitted at the facility on Thursday morning. Another was treated and discharged.

Even with the continued deaths, a blame game has emerged between Government agencies over who is responsible for the moderation and certification of alcoholic drinks.

Barnabas Lihema, the officer in charge of Kebs in the North Rift, absolved the firm from blame, saying their role is only to approve manufacturing companies by giving them the quality mark.

“The fraudsters are becoming cunning by the day. It seems they are using containers of our certified brands to repackage their sub-standard and toxic brews, making it difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake brands,” he said.

Lihema said Kebs can only take responsibility if it is discovered that the manufacturers they approved compromise the standards of their products, but not when adulteration is done by other parties.

His assertion was however dismissed by Uasin Gishu county officials who reiterated that Kebs is responsible for their quality assured products. Governor Jackson Mandago hit out at Kebs, saying fraudsters are beating them in their own game.

“The drinks have the Kebs mark of quality. People have ditched chang’aa just to die from certified liquor. The agency officials should drink these liquors themselves to prove that they are not toxic,” Mandago said.

Uasin Gishu County Commissioner Abdi Hassan said drinks certified by Kebs and approved by the National Authority for Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) should not continue killing people.

“These drinks are not illegal as they are sold in licenced pubs and bars and have quality check marks. The blame cannot be directed to the consumers but the agencies that approved their sale,” he said.

But absolving Nacada from blame, the agency’s representative in the North Rift, Eunice Arubia, maintained that the agency’s role is to certify brands tested by the Government Chemist and not to arrest distributors of killer drinks.

“The responsibility for quality assurance depends on many authorities and cannot be solely placed on one body,” Arubai said.

Temporary order

And even as the blame game continues, the High Court in Eldoret on Monday suspended the directive by the county government barring outlets from selling wines and spirits.

The Bars and Hotel Owners Association in Eldoret, through the Centre for Human Rights and Democracy, had sued the county government for arbitrarily closing their business without citing legal reasons to prove their offense.

The wines and spirits outlets will operate on a temporary order until August 13 when the case is heard.

Meanwhile, the Kenya National Union of Teachers (Knut), whose members have been affected by intoxicated drinks, has demanded a lasting solution to the problem.

“Kebs and Nacada ought to play an integral role in ensuring no lives are lost. They should not be seen in the media doing damage control on alcohol issues while the public continues to suffer,” said John Boor, the Wareng Knut Branch Executive Secretary.