Notorious brewers hurt illicit liquor war

Deep in the heart of Embu County is a small division known as Nembure, an otherwise quiet and unassuming place, except that it is fighting a losing battle against illicit alcohol.

The protagonist is District Officer Philomena Nduku, who has been combing the drinking dens of Nembure.

The antagonist is a notorious brewer, who has been arrested on more occasions than the officer could count, but keeps getting out on bail and heading right back to his distillery.

He goes by the street name of Kathambu, and everyone in Nembure knows about him.

“He is a social menace. The last time my officers and I went to arrest him in his house, he called me a prostitute and hurled all sorts of insults at me. He then barricaded himself in the house and we could not enter,” she said.

APPREHENDED WIFE

They however apprehend his wife, with whom Kathambu runs the business, but it was all in vain. She was out on bail the very next day.

Kathambu is the owner of an alcohol manufacturing den at Ena Town in Nembure that was destroyed by National Youth Services excavators and televised at the height of the crackdown on illicit brews.

He escaped arrest.

The demolition uncovered thousands of litres of ready alcohol as well as ingredients used in manufacturing.

It also unearthed underground tunnels and tanks where the brewer had been hiding the liquor and brewing paraphernalia, revealing a rather sophisticated outfit by Kathambu.

“We have come here three times but he has managed to dodge us and continue to brew the alcohol.

“He brews very bad alcohol called Mashore and we have found some very harmful substances in that drink,” said Embu County Commissioner Amos Gatheca who supervised the demolition.

County Speaker Kariuki Mate, who was present during the raid, also admitted that the fight against illicit alcohol was one fraught with irrepressible brewers who have an uncanny ability to bounce back after raids or arrests.

“Every time we destroy the alcohol, the brewers seem to reorganize themselves and restart the business. We need a sustainable solution,” Mr Mate said.

True to form, the raid did nothing to deter Kathambu, who simply set up base elsewhere.

A few metres from where the brewing den once lay, is a rubbish heap almost exclusively made of small clear packaging bags into which the illicit brew is sold.

Drinkers consume it by making a small hole at the base of the polythene bag then sucking the alcohol.

One local resident, who for a long time witnessed the notorious brewer’s cat and mouse games with the law, said locals are dead afraid of him.

Despite her status as a community leader, so afraid was she of him that she only spoke to the Nation on condition of anonymity, scared of what would happen if she allowed herself to be named and photographed.

“One time, I was among the people who had accompanied the chief on a raid to one of Kathambu’s drinking dens. He was not arrested during that raid.

On my way back home that evening, he came towards me on a motorbike brandishing a long knife. Only my yells for help and the presence of some young men deterred him from cutting me,” she said.

“I have seen many people die while crossing the road drunk from Kathambu’s products.”

According to her, the county government has either been “bought” by the brewer or is totally incapable of bringing an end to his antics.

Broken homes and diseased addicts are no longer a novelty in this area, all as a result of illicit brew.