Illicit brew vendors resurface in Meru

Illicit brew vendors are back to business just a few months after over 20 million litres of illegal liquor was destroyed and many businesses accused of stocking and selling second generation alcohol closed.

Residents in most parts of Meru South and Maara Sub counties have reported an increase in the illicit brews outlets despite the government ordering for closure of such businesses.

The most affected areas are Njaina and KK of Meru South District with residents accusing the area administration of colluding with these vendors and protecting them.

Eradication of the illicit brew in the area has proved difficult as the vendors are not relentless despite the spirited campaign by the government to put an end to the business.

According to the residents, chiefs and their assistants are to blame for failing to take action despite being aware of the manufacturing dens of these killer brews.

Late last month, eight Ugandans were arraigned in a Bungoma Court after they were arrested at Malaba border trying to sneak second generation brews into the country packed in a coffin.

The eight, seven men and a woman, were arrested by the Kenya Revenue Authority (KRA) officials with 1,500 sachets of alcohol worth Ksh 60,480.

In their defense, the suspects said that they were going to collect their relative’s body from Nairobi.

In August, KRA announced that traders intending to acquire ethanol shall now provide quarterly usage projections before being allowed to import the product.

In a raft of guidelines targeting local ethanol traders and spirit manufacturers, the taxman also outlined the transportation of the commodity saying it will be strictly controlled through electronic cargo tracking fitted vehicles.

The measures, jointly outlined by the KRA commissioner of domestic taxes Alice Owuor and her customs and border control counterpart Julius Musyoki, were geared at supporting ongoing initiatives’ to curb the illicit production and consumption of spirit based alcoholic beverages.

“The crackdown against illegal alcohol will continue even as the government puts in place mechanisms to rehabilitate youth who have been affected by addiction,” said President Uhuru Kenyatta late July.

The Head of State stated that the national and county governments will soon embark on programs to empower the thousands of youth who were rendered economically unproductive by the consumption of illicit liquor.