At least seven people died on Sunday after consuming a toxic brew in Eldoret, Uasin Gishu county. This comes just three days after 12 others including an Assistant Chief died in Kapsabet after consuming toxic brew said to have originated from Uganda.
Among those dead in Eldoret were two students from Moi University and a Form One student. According to police and medical officers, several other casualties, two of them in critical condition, were admitted to the Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital in Eldoret.
Most of those who died were taken to the hospital from Huruma, Langas and Maili Nne estates after consuming the brew believed to have been laced with methanol.
“Most of them consumed the brew on Saturday night, and there are those who drunk in the morning,” a senior police officer said, adding that most of those taken to hospital were peasant farmers in Uasin Gishu County.
Authorities have ordered the closure of all bars selling wines and spirits in Nandi County as the probe on the contents another killer brew are underway.
The deaths in Nandi and Uasin Gishu Counties follow similar ones reported in five counties in Central and Eastern parts of the country where over 80 people died after consuming toxic brews.
The government at the time announced that it had initiated measures to curb the use of methanol in the manufacture of alcoholic drinks.
“We are going to restrict the manufacture of Methanol to ensure it is not misused,” Interior Cabinet Secretary Joseph Ole Lenku said at the time, also announcing the sacking of several government officials blamed for laxity.
Lenku has however not commented on the latest deaths reported in Nandi and Uasin Gishu counties.
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