Mt Kenya's battle against illicit brews is less about public health and more about political power.
For the past five decades, Mt Kenya has been home to liquor economy politics—an issue that has evolved into a powerful political tool, still shaping campaigns ahead of the 2027 General Election.
While politicians continue to use the liquor debate as a campaign talking point, security officers describe it as a sensitive sector that, if unchecked, fuels illicit gains.
At the same time, bar owners—some also brewing uncertified alcohol—are said to lobby for favourable policies, with allegations that they have found ways to influence task forces set up to address the problem.
The liquor trade has grown into a force that touches on politics, religion, culture and the economy in the mt Kenya region making it one of the most contested and controversial issues in the region.
Wars against alcohol abuse are rolled out regularly, yet none seems designed to be won.
President William Ruto (left), Deputy President Kithure Kindiki and former Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua.
Currently, President William Ruto has tasked his Deputy Prof Kithure Kindiki with tackling the menace of killer brews in the region.
Interior CS Kipchumba Murkomen has been traversing Mt Kenya vowing to slay the “dragon” of illicit brews, rogue bar operators and corrupt officers who perpetuate the trade.
Mr Murkomen claims that illicit brews control over 55 percent of the untaxed alcohol market rendering it irrelevant to the national economy. He says profits embolden the players to influence policy, enforcementand politics.
“I know of traders who use licenses to make killer brews, distribute them, and collude with some of our officers. We also face awkward court orders that tie our hands,” Mr Murkomen said in Kiambu on July 31, 2025.
But Democracy for Citizens Party (DCP) leader Rigathi Gachagua accuses President Ruto of “deliberately frustrating” the war on killer brews to undermine him.
“When I was Deputy President (2022–2024), we had sobered the region. Youth rediscovered themselves, families were healing and newborns were on the rise. The moment I was hounded out, they let the menace back in to discredit me,” he charged.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen during the burial ceremony of Florence Chemonges Malinga Matisi, Trans Nzoia County on May 17, 2025.
To counter such claims, Mr Murkomen and Prof Kindiki have taken visible steps including deploying Deputy Recce Squad boss Clinton Kimaiyo to lead the battle in Murang’a and promoting Joshua Nkanatha as Central Regional Commissioner for his record against organised crime.
Still, critics say the debate is riddled with hypocrisy.
“The church complains, politicians shout, elders defend Muratina as a cultural drink and families suffer from alcoholism,” said Bishop Edward Nyutu, chair of the Central Region Indigenous Faiths Union.
Business leaders also accuse the state of hypocrisy.
“We are just a talk shop,” said John Waweru, who represents the business community. “Raw materials for some of these alcohol pass through roadblocks and warehouses under government watch. Crackdowns are just theatre.”
Mr Murkomen insists that if politics is stripped from the issue, tackling illicit brews would simply be about law enforcement and culture.
“Mt Kenya is not even the worst hit by alcoholism—it’s just that the debate here is distorted for ulterior motives,” he argued.
The politicisation of liquor traces back decades when during Daniel Moi’s regime (1978–2002), Mt Kenya politicians painted alcohol abuse as a state-sponsored plot to weaken the region’s population and voting power.
Former President Mwai Kibaki leaves Consolata Shrine in Nairobi on September 25, 2016, after attending Sunday Church Service.
The narrative stuck and by the time Mwai Kibaki assumed office, liquor politics was embedded in the region’s culture.
Former Provincial Commissioner Joseph Kaguthi says the alcohol debate eventually became a Mt Kenya issue rather than a national one.
“Most of those who spearheaded the war—Frank Njenga, John Mututho, Uhuru Kenyatta, Rigathi Gachagua, Prof Kindiki and myself—are from the region,” he noted.
After Mututho introduced the Liquor Control Act, Uhuru Kenyatta ordered local leaders and administrators to personally lead crackdowns—traders lost fortunes.
Mr Kaguthi recalls that “politicians win elections by vowing to fight the menace and security officers scramble for postings here to share in the liquor pie.”
Counties also bear the brunt.
“We pass laws to limit bars, but then courts issue orders letting them reopen. I know of a trader who runs over 100 bars in Murang’a, shielded by favorable court orders,” Murang’a Deputy Governor Stephen Munania said.
Mr Munania proposes a joint licensing system.
“Let all security agencies form a single authority to share responsibility. That way, counties stop carrying the blame,” he said/
