Six more die after drinking illicit brew
Thirty-year-old, Joseph Ndung'u who lost his sight after consuming illicit brew known as "Kabarito" at Fly Over area in Nyandarua County, recuperates at the Naivasha district hospital. He was among 11 people, including two women, undergoing treatment at the health facility where six people, including a teenager, died after consuming a lethal brew in Nakuru and Nyandarua counties. PHOTO/MACHARIA MWANGI
What you need to know:
- Three of the dead were from Maai Mahiu area on the outskirts of Naivasha town, while the other three came from Nyandarua County.
- Among the nine hospitalised at the medical facility, eight are from Nyandarua County and one from Maai Mahiu. They were in a stable condition and could afford to compare notes, recalling events that almost brought their lives to an end.
Six people, including a teenager, have died after consuming a lethal brew in Nakuru and Nyandarua counties.
Naivasha District Hospital Medical Superintendent Dr Joseph Mburu said two of them died while undergoing treatment at the hospital, while four others died before arriving at the medical facility. “They all died between Tuesday and Thursday nights,” he said.
Three of the dead were from Maai Mahiu area on the outskirts of Naivasha town, while the other three came from Nyandarua County.
Eleven others, including two women, are undergoing treatment at the health facility, with a 30-year-old man and a 24-year-old woman having lost their sight.
Dr Mburu said another victim of the lethal brew had been taken to Kenyatta National Hospital for specialised treatment after his condition worsened.
Speaking at his hospital bed, Joseph Ndung’u, 30, who lost his sight, said he took the lethal brew at Fly Over area in Nyandarua County on Tuesday and Wednesday.
“I first started feeling weak and overslept on Thursday. I woke up only to realise that I could not see well,” he told the Sunday Nation.
He shared a bed with another brew victim, Francis Gitonga. He took the brew known as “Kabarito” on Wednesday. But John Kamau, 23, thanked the heavens after he regained his sight which he had lost temporarily after taking the brew.
BLINDED BY DRINK
The father of a four-month-old boy promised to quit drinking after the scare. “I will never take alcohol again. I have taken beer for a long time but I’m now quitting,” vowed Mr Kamau.
Another victim, Ann Njeri, 24, said she took the lethal liquor at a local joint. “I thought I was just tired after staying out late … I did not suspect something amiss,” she said.
Among the nine hospitalised at the medical facility, eight are from Nyandarua County and one from Maai Mahiu.
They were in a stable condition and could afford to compare notes, recalling events that almost brought their lives to an end.
Most of them promised to keep away from brew, saying they had learnt their lessons.
Dr Mburu said medical personal were monitoring their progress before they could be discharged.
In Trans Nzoia County, one man has lost his sight while others are in critical condition at the Kitale District Hospital after consuming illicit brews.
Maurice Kituyi, 31, went blind after consuming liquor called “Shakers” worth Sh50 at a pub in Sibanga market while fellow revellers, Samuel Nderitu, 45, and Gladys Wanjiru, 30, passed out.
“They were rushed to the hospital after they became unconscious moments after the consuming alcohol,” the Nurse in-Charge Mrs Fedelis Katimo told journalists at the hospital.
The other two patients, Bernard Mbugua and George Kinyajui, are said to have consumed an un-identified killer brands at joints at Laini Moja and Kibomet estates within Kitale town.
“We have mobilized our medical staff to give them special attention as they ascertain what substances are behind the complications being reported by the patients,” said the hospital’s administrator Thomas Kwalia.
The blind patient, Mr Kituyi, could not come to terms with the fact that a drink he had bought as refreshment had just taken away his sight.
“I developed complication on my eyes moments after taking the brew on Friday night. I thank God that I am alive. This marks the end of my drinking habit,” vowed the patient.
Another patient, Mr Mbugua, said he was introduced to the bar by a friend where they consumed a brand he could not recall.
“I just want nurses to discharge me to go home because I miss my children. I will be okay,” said the patient who looked confused as a a result of the liquor.
The incident comes barely a week after residents of Kipsongo slums within Kitale ton engaged police ion a fighting battle in a move to resist a raid on popular chang’aa dens that saw 33 people arrested.
“We are not going top spare anyone in the swoops since our investigation have established that all those selling chang’aa have not the required brewing conditions,” area police commandant Lillian Okembo said.
