A court allowed police to detain for 20 days a man linked to a killer brew in villages in Mwea, Kirinyaga County.

John Muriithi Karaya alias ‘California’ was arrested and produced at the Baricho Law Courts on Wednesday where the prosecution successfully made a miscellaneous application to detain him at Kiamaciri police station in connection with the deaths of at least 13 people.

The victims died on February 6, after consuming illicit brew.

It is alleged that the deceased lost their lives after consuming the suspected illicit brew from the said California Bar, an establishment owned by the suspect.

The matter is scheduled to be mentioned on March 7, 2024.

Some residents burnt down a bar after 13 people died from consuming expired alcohol.

At least four others are blind after they consumed the chemical on Monday, officials said.

Central Regional Commissioner Fredrick Shisia said angry Kangai villagers raided and torched the bar linked to deaths.

He said security teams were on the ground to handle the crisis. 

The residents stormed the bar owned by a local tycoon at dawn Wednesday destroying property before setting it ablaze.

During the raid, crates of beer, tables and other property were destroyed, police and witnesses said.

Residents said the revellers went to a local bar on Monday night and ordered the drink, which they enjoyed while chatting before heading home.

However, in the early hours of Tuesday morning, the victims began complaining of stomach pains and vomiting.

Six of the victims died at home while the rest succumbed in hospitals.

The contents of the brew are yet to be known. The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) said it is alarmed by the deaths and loss of eyesight among people reported to have consumed the suspicious alcoholic drinks.

“From preliminary reports, the deaths occurred as a result of consumption of an unidentified substance whose contents are yet to be established,” the authority's Chief Executive Officer Dr Anthony Omerikwa said.

He also cautioned the public on the rising cases of illicit alcohol-related deaths and illnesses.

Omerikwa urged the public to avoid the consumption of alcohol whose quality cannot be verified.

He appealed to the county governments to execute their devolved licencing mandate to control the proliferation of bars, and wines and spirits outlets, many of which do not meet the required operating standards.

At least six family members are among those who died and five others went partially blind after consuming illicit liquor in Kangai village, Mwea East, Kirinyaga county.

Kerugoya County health boss George Karoki said among the deceased was a patient who had been referred to the Kerugoya County Referral Hospital but died upon arrival on Tuesday.

Karoki said relatives of the deceased said that five other family members had died within their residences after consuming the liquor and that their bodies had been moved to a funeral home.

"We are told that they died at their residences and were therefore taken straight to mortuary." The five are said to have been among a group that took 'California', a notorious, potent illicit liquor sold in the region.

This comes amid an ongoing campaign against the consumption of the brew in the region.