Nacada to probe manufacture of lethal spirit

Anti-drug abuse tsar John Mututho has put on notice public agencies that failed to monitor and regulate the consumption of brews in Embu County.

Speaking after visiting survivors in hospital, Mr Mututho said that the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) would investigate how the killer brew was manufactured and distributed and those found culpable will be brought to book.

“We shall do a thorough follow-up on the matter — from the factory, the distributor and the government officials who slept on their job,” Mr Mututho warned.

RESTRAINING ORDERS

He said that Nacada and all other government offices in Embu County directly linked to the regulation, control and surveillance of selling and consumption of illegal brews must be held accountable.

Meanwhile, Embu Deputy Governor Dorothy Nditi blamed courts for handing lenient sentences to brewers, a practice she said encourages the illicit trade to thrive.

She cited an incident in which a group of people demonstrating against a local brewer were arrested and charged with causing a disturbance. They were also restrained from getting close to the brewers’ premises.

“The courts are releasing illicit brewers every time they are arrested. We have many merchants who walk Scot-free while those who are whistle blowers are frustrated. Alcoholism is now worse than HIV/Aids,” she said.

Victims who spoke to the Nation said it’s a usual for them to start drinking as early as 5am.

Both men and women in their 20s and 30s fell victim of the brews with the youngest victim being a 16-year-old Form Three student.