Politician scarpers as illegal booze pyre explodes

A governor in Kenya was forced into a sudden retreat when the illegal alcohol he was helping to destroy blew up.

Around 10 tonnes of bootleg beer confiscated from an illegal brewery in Thika was being destroyed at Kang-oki rubbish tip in the county of Kiambu, overseen by governor William Kabogo.

With the booze piled high, doused in petrol and the media looking on, Kabogo stepped forward to put a ceremonial torch to the bonfire. No sooner had he done so than he and his entourage were “running for their lives” as the pyre went up with a bang.

Fortunately no one was hurt and an apparently unruffled Kabogo gave a statement to the press afterwards encouraging Kenyans to bring friends or relatives with an alcohol problem or suffering from withdrawal symptoms to a local hospital for treatment.

The Kenyan government is currently cracking down on bootlegging which is on the rise in the country with Kiambu among the worst affected counties.

Often laced with dangerous substances such as methanol the number of deaths, largely among poor people, is rising; as are other ailments such as male impotence.

Eighteen people have been hospitalised of which six have died this month alone in Kiambu county alone and as many as 70 people died last year after drinking what the government refers to as “killer brew”.

Licences have been withdrawn from a large number of retailers and brewing licences would only be granted to those who are cleared by the Kenya Bureau of Standards it has been declared.

“The fight continues and there is no room for illicit brews in Kiambu,” Kabogo said.