City slum raided in war on illicit brews

Njiru chief Teresiah Wambui last week mobilised youths from Black Pen CBO to demolish chang’aa dens in Shiranga, Njiru, Nairobi. The group destroyed more than 500 litres and arrested one culprit.

“It is stressful to eradicate illicit brew," Wambui said. "Sometimes when taking culprits to court, justice is not served as most are familiar with the courtrooms and have the charge sheets altered.

“If you involve the police, you will not arrest any culprits because they work together. It is mostly the low-ranking officers who often patrol around, collecting money from the dens.”

One culprit, Jane Njambi, a single mother of two, said, “I was introduced to the business by a friend, who taught me the use of chemicals such as Pasha that accelerate fermentation.”