The poison in the bottle: Kenyans fear deadly alcohol behind familiar labels

The death of a young man in Naivasha following an alleged drinking competition has revived a question that has haunted Kenya’s alcohol industry for years: what exactly is inside some of the bottles being sold to consumers as branded spirits?

Former Naivasha MP John Mututho has demanded a wider investigation into the drink consumed during the event, calling for action against the bar, manufacturer and anyone else found culpable.

As investigators work to establish what happened, a wider concern is emerging. Across social media, Kenyans are describing unusual hangovers, severe stomach pains, vomiting, confusion and other symptoms after drinking alcohol they suspect is fake or adulterated.

One user said they had stopped drinking because of the growing concerns.

“Niliwacha pombe juu sahi fake alcohol imejaa in the market. Watamalizaa vijana. (I quit taking alcohol because so much fake products in the market. They will finish the youth.”

*Moses, a recovering addict, said the current debate should serve as a warning to people struggling with alcohol use.

“There is no better time to quit alcohol in Kenya like right now mainly because of the fake alcohol conversation. Everybody is realizing that there is a lot of fake alcohol right now. If you needed a signal or the right time to quit ... then this is the best time. Because you do not know the effect of the fake alcohol or what you will buy at the wines and spirits shop,” said Moses.

Chesoni, another social media user, described falling ill after buying alcohol from a wines and spirits outlet.

“I have been sick since Saturday morning and it is because I made a mistake of going to buy alcohol at one of these wines and spirits, I was dying. Men, these liquor stores are buying fake alcohol. You guys will kill us with fake alcohol. Please stop.”

Jomba, another social media user, urged drinkers to be particularly cautious about spirits.

“This is a pandemic. Right now, you cannot even enjoy your drink. I do not want anyone dying young because they were drinking. This thing has been there even during the time of Noah. Now I have resorted to not drinking. Because each time I think of drinking, I think of the toxins,” he posted.

Another social media user posed: “Do you have H-Pylori or you have been taking fake alcohol?”

The comments come amid growing anxiety over the authenticity of alcoholic drinks sold in shops, bars and wines and spirits outlets.

Self-described fake and non-fake alcohol identifier Ciggie Johnson has been running a social-media campaign urging Kenyans to verify what they buy.

“From the Soma Lebo by KRA (Kenya Revenue Authority) it is easy to identify what you are consuming. From the bar code on the alcohol you can search all KRA labeled alcohol to know what is true and what is fake.”

The Authority has developed the Soma Label mobile application to enable consumers to verify the authenticity of excise stamps affixed to excisable products.

Distinction

According to KRA, the Soma Label application enables consumers to verify the authenticity of excise stamps affixed on products.

The application works with KRA’s Excisable Goods Management System, which tracks excisable products and uses secure stamps intended to help combat counterfeiting and illicit trade.

The system covers products, including alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, bottled water, soft drinks and juices.

But even as consumers turn to technology and social media for answers, suspicious taste, smell, label, seal or barcode alone cannot conclusively establish that a drink is counterfeit. A suspicious bottle needs to be sampled, tested and, where necessary, traced through the supply chain.

That distinction is particularly important after two women went viral on social media describing what they believed were severe reactions to counterfeit alcohol.

*Mary* said she was lucky to survive what she described as a terrifying experience.

“I almost died due to the counterfeit alcohol. My stomach and intestines were tying up, anguishing pain, at the middle of the night, I am glad I am alive.”

*Jane* described a different experience, saying she was confused after consuming what she believed was counterfeit alcohol.

“It is like I took counterfeit alcohol. I thought I was sly, I was trapped, I was confused did not even know what I was cooking for my son,” she recounted.

Their accounts are personal experiences and do not, on their own, establish that the drinks were counterfeit. That requires appropriate laboratory analysis.

The same caution applies to the Naivasha case. There is currently no laboratory finding in the public domain establishing that the drink consumed by the deceased was counterfeit or caused his death. Those questions will require toxicology, post-mortem findings, product testing and an investigation into the drink’s source and supply chain.

But for Mututho, the Naivasha death should trigger a wider probe.

He wants the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) to investigate the manufacturer and the bar involved and refer the matter for prosecution if offences are established.

The former MP challenged the Kenya Bureau of Standards (KeBS) to test the drink at the centre of the controversy and determine whether it met the required safety and quality standards.

“If the drink is found to be harmful, it should be banned from the market immediately,” Mututho said.

He wants the county government to revoke the bar’s liquor licence and conduct a comprehensive review of alcohol outlets in the area.

Mututho, who was instrumental in the enactment of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, 2010, said authorities must establish whether the drink was adulterated, counterfeit or lawfully manufactured before responsibility is assigned.

Counterfeit alcohol is not necessarily synonymous with all illicit alcohol.

A smuggled genuine bottle may be illicit because it bypassed taxation or import controls but is not necessarily counterfeit. A counterfeit product, on the other hand, may be packaged to resemble a legitimate brand while containing a completely different substance.

The Anti-Counterfeit Authority (ACA) has previously warned about the scale of illicit alcohol and the growing sophistication of counterfeiters, including the refilling of genuine branded bottles.

For consumers, the most important question is not what is printed on the bottle, but what is inside it.

Illicit or adulterated alcohol can be produced outside normal regulatory controls, increasing the risk of unsafe ingredients, incorrect alcohol concentrations and toxic contaminants.

Figures

Among the most dangerous substances associated with adulterated alcoholic drinks is methanol.

Methanol is a toxic form of alcohol that can cause severe poisoning. The early symptoms can resemble ordinary alcohol intoxication, making it particularly dangerous when victims or those around them assume they are simply dealing with a severe hangover.

As the body metabolises methanol, toxic substances can cause severe metabolic acidosis and damage to the optic nerve and central nervous system.

Severe poisoning can result in visual loss, blindness, coma and death. Kenya has experienced the consequences before.

A peer-review of methanol-poisoning outbreaks recorded major Kenyan outbreaks in May and July 2014 involving approximately 341 and 126 patients, with reported case-fatality rates of 29 per cent and 21 per cent respectively.

The figures translate to roughly 100 deaths in the first outbreak and 26 in the second.

Kenya’s experience with contaminated alcohol is even longer, with previous outbreaks linked to deaths, hospitalisations and blindness.

These are not merely statistics. A person who survives severe methanol poisoning may be left with permanent visual impairment or neurological injury, meaning the health threat can extend far beyond the immediate intoxication.

Confusion

Warning signs following consumption of suspected adulterated alcohol can include nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, dizziness, confusion and visual disturbances.

More severe poisoning can cause rapid breathing as the body attempts to compensate for severe acidosis, visual impairment, seizures, coma and death.

That is why unusual visual symptoms after drinking alcohol should never simply be dismissed as a hangover. The danger is also time-sensitive: delays in recognising methanol poisoning can worsen outcomes, particularly where diagnostic facilities and appropriate treatment are not immediately available.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has linked harmful alcohol use to more than 200 diseases, injuries and health conditions. It also estimates that harmful use of alcohol contributes to about three million deaths globally every year and more than 132 million disability-adjusted life years.

For consumers of illicit or contaminated alcohol, the risks can be even more unpredictable because there may be no reliable way of knowing the concentration, contaminants or conditions under which the drink was produced.

Joseph Wahome Mukundi, a consultant toxicologist at Meru Teaching and Referral Hospital, has warned that counterfeiters can make products difficult to distinguish from genuine brands.

“For the majority of these brands, you can never even tell whether it is a counterfeit or not,” Dr Mukundi, said. “These guys do it so well that they copy almost to the point of the original product.”

Most importantly, toxicology findings will need to establish what was in the deceased’s system.

Mututho has also turned his attention to the county government, which is responsible for licensing liquor outlets. He wants the licence of the establishment revoked and all liquor licences in the county reviewed.

He further wants officers involved in licensing to face scrutiny if they are found to have ignored violations.

As Naivasha MP, Mututho championed the Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill that became law in 2010. The legislation introduced tighter controls on the manufacture, sale, advertising and consumption of alcoholic drinks.

To young Kenyans, Mututho urged caution over drinking competitions and activities that turn alcohol consumption into entertainment.

“You are not objects of entertainment. Your life is not a commodity. Your dignity is not negotiable,” he said.

The Naivasha death has put fresh focus on whether Kenya’s alcohol-control laws are being effectively enforced at the point of sale. For the bereaved family, the immediate question is what happened to their loved one.

For consumers, it is whether the bottle they buy is what the label says it is. For regulators, the challenge is how many suspicious products reach consumers before they are intercepted.

For a country with a long history of methanol poisoning, alcohol-related deaths and recurring seizures of suspected counterfeit products, the question is no longer whether fake and illicit alcohol exists.

The deadly cost of counterfeit, illicit alcohol in the market

Kenya has recorded repeated mass-casualty incidents linked to illicit and adulterated alcohol. NACADA reported that 105 people died and 98 were hospitalised in different counties in May 2014 alone following consumption of adulterated illicit brews.

A NACADA-published study also records a separate 2014 incident in Central Kenya in which 60 people died and 70 were hospitalised after consuming illicit brews.

Methanol contamination can cause severe visual impairment or permanent blindness. NACADA reported that an illicit-alcohol incident in Kirinyaga in 2024 left more than 13 people dead, with numerous cases of blindness.

Counterfeit or adulterated alcohol can contain toxic substances such as methanol. The Authority’s research links illicit alcohol in Kenya to methanol poisoning and deaths. Severe methanol poisoning can affect the nervous system and vision and may be fatal.

Beyond deaths and blindness, contaminated alcohol can cause serious poisoning requiring hospitalisation.

NACADA says its enforcement department collects suspected counterfeit alcoholic products for laboratory analysis, underscoring the need to distinguish suspected counterfeit products from genuine, regulated alcohol.