Survivors’ fear as more friends die

Survivors of the brew that has claimed 35 lives in Embu are living in fear after watching their friends and relatives die right before their eyes.

At the Embu Level-Five Hospital where many are still recovering, Ms Susan Karimi, 26, was inconsolable after her husband George Gachie, 31, died Tuesday night as she nursed him.

She said she was worried since most of those who had died had appeared to be improving.

“He didn’t look badly off. He was put on drip on Tuesday when he started foaming at the mouth. I tried to give him some porridge but the hospital security restrained me on grounds that he was under medication. He died at night,” she said amid sobs.

Ms Karimi said she was anxious since she has been on a drip all along but was yet to receive any injection despite purchasing the drugs she had been asked to buy.

When Mr Kenneth Murithi, 30, walked into a drinking den in Shauri Yako slums, Embu county, he was in high spirits and all he wanted was to take his regular serving of Kathavuria — the illicit brew that has claimed the lives of 35 revellers and left over 70 others hospitalised.

However, as he was about to take his drink which cost Sh30, Ms Felista Karimi, a friend showed up and asked that they share the drink. A generous Murithi complied and they shared the liquor and possibly the effects he would have borne alone.

“My generosity may have saved my life,” he recalled as he sat on the hospital bed he is sharing with three other survivors.

According to residents, Kathavuria brew, which resembles chang’aa, has corrosive qualities and can dissolve a finger nail. “One sweats a lot after taking it even if it’s on a cold day,” said Mr Peter Mukundi, a resident.

Ms Karimi, who is also admitted to the same hospital said she sensed something was not right after taking one sip. It tasted differently from the one she was used to drinking.

“I took one sip of the drink and knew something was amiss. First it had a strong repulsive, petrol like smell. I then felt a bout of nausea and my stomach felt hot,” she said.

Another survivor, a 16 year-old Form Three student said her boyfriend asked her to take the liquor, which he had mixed with a soft drink. Her uncle is among those who killed by the drink.