According to recent sources, the illegal brew that has killed 17 people in Kirinyaga County so far was an exhibit that was kept in storage at the Kiamaciri police station.
An unnamed police officer has informed Citizen Digital that the fatal brew was kept in the station until it was sold out on Sunday night by four renegade police officers.
"On Sunday night, our four police officers sold exhibits to the owner of the California bar at Ksh. 20,000, where each officer pocketed Ksh. 5000 each. Please don't quote me as nobody can confirm as all senior police officers have been transferred; the source told this publication on Saturday evening.
The lethal brew would be sipped at the Carlifonia pub in Kangai village once it was sold out for Ksh. 20,000. Before six of them who had drunk the alcohol instantly passed away, others experienced unexpected side effects like blindness.
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Since then, 17 families have come forward to say that they lost loved ones in the bar. On Saturday, Second Lady Dorcas Rigathi met with the family.
Numerous Kangai and Kandongu village inhabitants in Mwea have also stated that local police are complicit in the illicit trade. As a result, investigations into the actions of Kiamaciri police station officers are being called for.
The locals assert that the exhibit was only on display at Kiamaciri station for two days before being purchased by the proprietor of the California pub.
Elizabeth Muthoni, accusing the local government of incompetence, stated that the bar owner had been running the establishments in Kangai and Kandongu even though the Kirinyaga County Government claimed the establishments lacked a license.
On Monday, Elizabeth lost his 30-year-old son, who had ingested the lethal concoction.
Sen. James Kamau Murango of Kirinyaga, aware of the recent events, has demanded that the four cops be moved and put on trial.
Murango declared that he would only give up once all police officers were moved from the police stations in Kiamaciri and Kangai.
He confronted Mbatian Kantai, the commander of the Mwea-West sub-county police, about his role in enabling the illicit trade.
On Friday, the government called back all top authorities in Kirinyaga County, as directed by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Speaking in Kutus, Gachagua blamed Mwea West Deputy County Commissioner, Kirinyaga County Commissioner Nayoima Tobiko, Police Commander Reuben Muli, CIC, and Mwea West AP.
According to Gachagua, the elders will likewise be investigated and not sent to another county unless the appropriate measures are taken.
On Wednesday, Baricho Law Courts ordered the pub's proprietor where the beer was sold, John Muriithi Karaya, also known as "California," to be detained for 20 days.
