Administrators apprehensive that changaa is being repackaged

Nyandarua, Monday June 5, 2023

KNA by Antony Mwangi

Administrators in Nyahururu, Laikipia County have expressed concerns over packaging of chang’aa in empty branded liquor bottles disguised as normal alcohol and later sold in local bars.

This, they said, have made their efforts of fighting the illicit brew futile as the licensing of bars is under the county government.

Speaking in Chamanek forest after a successful operation of destroying over 5000 litres of kangara, Maina village senior chief Muraya Waithaka, said that they had destroyed the temporary distillery set up by the brewers.

The operation was a joint operation with the Kenya Forestry Service.

Muraya regretted that the chang’aa is mixed with ethanol and repackaged then sold in licensed bars but they are restricted from conducting raids in bars as they fall under the jurisdiction of County governments.

He urged the county government and Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) to randomly test alcohol being sold in bars and especially in informal settlement areas.

“We have always worked on information given to us by the public on where the illicit brew is being prepared. Unfortunately, some brewers evade our dragnets and they end up mixing that brew with ethanol and repackaging.

“We are requesting the county government and KEBS to help us in this fight. They can randomly conduct raids and we shall tell them some specific bars we know,” said Muraya 

On his side, Chamanek forest station manager, John Macharia, said that the greatest challenge they are facing is understaffing whereas the forest is vast and the brewers operate in some remote areas of the forest.

He said that they are always searching the donkeys transporting farm produce saying in the past they have intercepted some donkeys used to transport the illicit brews and its raw materials.

The forest manager added that they will intensify their forest patrols to deter the brewers from accessing the forest.

In the last one month, over 100,000 litres of illicit brew has been destroyed by chiefs with brewers shifting their operations deeper into the forests around Nyahururu Sub County.

Courtesy ; K. N. A