Illegal brew leaves 20 dead in Kenya
At least 20 people died Saturday and 26 others were hospitalised after drinking an illegal brew in eastern Kenya, the police said.
Some of the victims were found dead in their homes early Saturday and others died during the day in Machakos, 34 miles south-east of the capital, Nairobi, said the Eastern Provincial Police Officer Thomas Chigamba.
“At least two people are already blind – they are still alive, but blind - after drinking that brew,” said the director of operations for the Kenya Police, David Kimaiyo.
“We suspect that this is some kind of industrial alcohol,” Kimaiyo said. “We are mobilising officers to comb the area and confiscate the remains of the brew.”
Some producers of cheap, illegal brews add industrial alcohol to give their concoctions more of a kick.
The brews, however, become deadly when too much industrial alcohol is added. Kimaiyo said police were investigating the origin of the brew and had arrested several people.
