The events of December 23, 2022 are still fresh in the mind of Mr Timothy Kitetu the senior assistant Chief of Afraha within Nakuru East sub county.

It is the day when the administrator narrowly escaped death after being poisoned by his suspected adversaries whom he had confronted in the line of duty.

The chief left his house in the evening to visit his favourite butchery within the area and decided to enjoy a plate of beef.

Little did he know that plans had already been hatched to eliminate him by illicit liquor brewers who perceived him as a stumbling block to their business success.

After striking a deal with the butcher man to lace the food with poison, the group also paid someone to monitor the movement of the chief for the day.

He innocently consumed the food only for him to start feeling unwell a couple of minutes later. When the condition worsened he was rushed to hospital in Nakuru before being transferred to MP Shah in Nairobi where he was admitted for two weeks.

“If I was not urgently rushed to the hospital I would have lost my life that day,” remarks Mr Kitetu

The incident was however, happening just two weeks after his home was raided by a group of youths suspected to be members of the dreaded confirm gang members.

He recalls that he had just clocked out of work in the evening when he received a phone call from his wife back home informing her that their home was under siege from the gang members.

“I panicked and decided to call the officer Commanding Police station to help me drive out the group and secure my family,” said Mr Kitetu.

He noted that the gang had been sent by people who were aggrieved by the operation which he had taken part in; fighting the illicit brew that led to the arrest of some culprits.

After the two incidents Mr Kitetu felt the need to take precautionary measures in order to protect himself and his family.

“I had to find another parcel of land outside my jurisdiction to establish my home where people do not know the kind of job that I do,” said the chief.

According to Mr Kitetu, the fight against the illicit liquor alias chang’aa has subjected the local administrators who are the face of the fight to numerous risks ranging from threats to their life and that of their family to attacks and public condemnation.

He indicated that the chiefs have been grappling with intense pressure from their bosses, intimidation from the criminals and politicians, as well as attacks from unknown members of the public.

Due to the roles in the fight the administrators have had to contend with malicious scrutiny and monitoring from the public.

Mr Kitetu says he would rather stay hungry than get ready food from the hotels or joints.

The chief says he has had to sacrifice his comfort for the sake of his own life.

“I cannot just hop into a hotel or joint and get food or drink. There are some roads I have to avoid within the town while there are some areas I cannot go alone. Sometimes I am forced to walk or board a motorbike even though I have a vehicle,” said Mr Kitetu.

The case is similar to Mr George Ngang’a the senior assistant chief in the neighbouring Langalanga location.

Langalanga senior Assistant chief George Ng'ang'a poses for a photo after an interview with Mtaa Wangu.

Photo credit: JOSEPH OPENDA/MTAA WANGU

Mr Ngang’a ‘s office sits right in the middle of the notorious illicit liquor dens of Flamingo estate.

For him, he has experienced a raid in his own office where individuals break into the office, take some properties and leave warning and threatening messages.

The chief is also highly monitored where there are people who follow his every move.

Recently, the administrator reveals how he was outsmarted by the group as he tried to nab the sellers.

According to him, he secretly moved to another location where he boarded a tuktuk to take him and his team to the venue.

They sat at the back so that nobody would spot them from outside. However, they were shocked when they started seeing people flee the venue a few metres to the venue.

“We came to learn that the driver of the tuk tuk was in a deal with the sellers whereby they were supposed to light the headlights to alert them on the possible arrests,” says Mr Ng’ang’a.

At some point the chief says he had to summon specific individuals for questioning who they believed had been planted to monitor their movements.

“There are people who are paid on a daily basis to give information of my whereabouts. I came to learn some of them were right within my office compound who we had to chase away,” he says.

In another incident, he reported to work only to discover that some individuals had broken into and left some paraphernalia to threaten and warn him against continuing with the fight.

The administrator says the brewers have the support of politicians, some rogue police officers and a section of members of the public.

He explains an incident when they went for an operation in Kanyon a notorious chang’aa brewing den only to be attacked by members of the public who had been incited by the brewers.

The administrators, he says, had to lock themselves in one of the houses and call for police reinforcement to avoid lynching by the irate members of the public.

“They wanted to burn us alive in the house after they were incited by the brewers,” says Chief Ng’ang’a.

In their appeal to the government, the administrators want the government to fulfill the promise of assigning at least five police officers to a chief.

This according to Mr Kitetu will improve the security while at the same time ensure accountability among the officers involved in the fight.

Among the areas notorious for the illicit brew include Kanyon, Bondeni, Flamingo in Nakuru East, Kapkures, Rhonda kaptembwo in Nakuru West, Jowatho in Njoro and Hodi Hodi in Bahati.

Four chiefs attacked, one seriously injured in Flamingo estate illicit brew crackdown

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Muthoni Wanjiku