Sunday, August 24, 2025 - Interior Cabinet Secretary, Kipchumba Murkomen, has lifted the suspension of eight local administrators in Kirinyaga County who were interdicted last year over rampant illicit brew.
The administrators - three chiefs and five sub-chiefs from
Mwea West - were suspended in February 2024 on the orders of then Deputy
President Rigathi Gachagua after more than 20 people died from alcohol
poisoning in the region.
The affected areas include Mutithi, Kathiga, Ngomongo,
Kianjogu, Kariukuini, Gitumbi and Kiandiiri.
Speaking during a Jukwaa la Usalama forum in the
county, Murkomen said the officials had “suffered enough” and would immediately
resume duty.
“I have been told about chiefs, and that is being sorted.”
“They were fighting illicit brew, but when suspects are
taken to court, they get released.”
“It was not their fault, and they should just go back to
work,” Murkomen said, adding that enforcement failures in the justice system
had unfairly punished administrators.
Gachagua, who championed a fierce crackdown on illicit
liquor during his two-year tenure, had argued that administrators were
responsible for curbing the menace.
At the time, he warned that illegal alcohol was derailing
the lives of youth in the Mount Kenya region.
After his impeachment, Gachagua urged chiefs to uphold his
anti-brew legacy, cautioning that the “boy child” remained at risk.
He even alleged that powerful figures within President
Ruto’s administration were facilitating illicit brews to weaken the region
politically.
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