NATIONAL Authority for the Campaign Against alcohol Drug Abuse (NACADA) is investigating the presence of a killer brew in the country.
NACADA CEO Victor Okioma on Saturday claimed the authority has received information that there is a kind of Alcohol killing people by the name Diamond.
He said the authority will take up the matter immediately to find out where the liquor is coming from.
Okioma said there is need to find out whether the drink is a counterfeit.
He called on county governments to be finding out what they license as they could be licensing poison or a counterfeit that may end up killing people.
“Be responsible and check with the Kenya bureau of standard mark that this thing has gone through the standardization process,” he said.
The CEO added that there is need to question any drink that has not met the required Kenya Bureau of Standards requirements.
He was speaking in Karatina town in Nyeri County when NACADA officials toured the home of the secondary school student whose video showing the minor drunk went viral on social media platforms last week.
He also claimed that some liquor stores have been operating from six in the morning saying all bars must open after five and close at 11 as per the law.
“But even when you walk in this town, you will find people drinking early in the morning and you wonder whether they are in this country where the law govern us,” he said.
He appealed to county governments to work with NACADA to end the practice.
He called on the media to highlight issues and urged members of the public to pass any information on the bars that have been violating the law by opening outside the stipulated time so action can be taken.
Karatina MCA Watson Weru blamed the police and administrators for laxity saying some are drunkards who are bribed with bear or money and leave the unscrupulous businesspeople to continue with illegal trade of alcohol.
“You wonder whether they have passed the integrity test to be given this role because I understand that there is somewhere where a chief went to arrest and was given a cup and gave them the go ahead to continue with the business,” he said.
He said the county assembly upon resuming in February will pass relevant laws to check the problem.
Veronica Wangari a member of liquor licensing board in the county admitted that there has been a problem with alcoholic outlets licensing and said they will rectify that.
She blamed the sub county licensing board for the mess.
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