Graves, crying families as cheap, killer liquor rules Kathonzweni

Two fresh graves. Two distraught families. Alleged poisonous cheap liquor. One local den and slow police investigations.

This is the situation which villagers in Kathonzweni, Makueni county continue to live in following sudden deaths of two friends after consuming alcohol in the township.

At the shores of Matinga dam, Kathonzweni is the home of Mwongeli Kitenye, mother to the late Josephat Kyalo, 30.

When we visited, Kitenye was busy crushing pepper into powder, and packaging it in Ksh.15 Sackets for significant value addition to earn her a living in this dry countryside village. With burning sensation and tearing eyes from grinding of pepper, she poses from that chore, yet again into tearful process of sorting photos of his late son’s burial which she has kept for memory.

Kyalo passed on February 7, 2026 few hours after arriving home from drinking in a local pub, Coco Beach.

“On that fateful day he left home as usual for his hustles in the town. In the evening when I met him in the market, he told me he wasn’t feeling well. Within a short period of time, he was unable to walk and that is when Boda boda operators came in and helped in taking him home,” Kitenye told the standard when we visited her at home.

According to his mother, Kyalo had disclosed of having taken two bottles of 750ML “Jambo Ice” liquor brand. At first, she thought her son had taken alcohol on empty stomach. She cooked him porridge. As the porridge kept on boiling and so was Kyalo’s situation, it worsened.

“At one moment I asked him what was wrong and he told me he had taken alcohol from Coco beach club and he was experiencing unusual burning sensation in his throat and stomach. From there he became stubborn, was singing all through some Kama benga songs. He didn’t even take the porridge,” she disclosed.

On that day night, the situation worsened. He went silent from singing. He was rushed to Kathonzweni health centre for immediate check-ups. Hospital documents from the facility showed that he was brought to the facility dead.

“Blood Pressure un-recordable, patient unresponsive, stiff and cold extremities, pupil fixed and dilated, with no apex heart beat,” the nursing care notes indicated with the body referred to Makueni referral hospital morgue for post-mortem.

At the morgue an autopsy was conducted with the death linked to heart attack and some samples obtained for toxicology at the government chemistry. A post-mortem toxicology report that would analyse lethal thresholds of any involved substances has since not been availed.

“They took some fluid which they said will be screened for any fatal interactions. The results have never been disclosed to the family many months later,” she decried of delayed justice.

The cry is same to a family in the neighbouring village. A forever silence engulfed this family following the death of Peter Mwalili. Mwalili, a heavy drinker, was collected in the house where he lived in Kathonzweni town after a day of drinking at the COCO Beach club, just like his counterpart Kyalo, and was rushed to the hospital.

“April 11, 2026, my late husband was collected from his house where he used to stay at Kathonzweni market. He confirmed to have come from a drinking spree before becoming weak. He was taken to hospital but died in a count of days. He seemed mentally confused and he experienced difficulties in breathing, urinating. That day he died his skin had turned clammy,” Ann Mumbua, the late Mwalili’s wife revealed during an interview.

Mwalili’s daughter, Mwikali Mwalili terming the alcohol that his father had taken to have probably been too poisonous to extend of unable to utter a single word till his death.

“When he died I was holding him. I tried talking to him to get to understand what had transpired but all was impossible, he rested after a week of struggles,” Mwikali, in tears, painted the final journey of her father.

As Mwalili, 50, lie in eternity, months later, during our investigations, a joint raid between NACADA officers, Police, and the liquor licensing committee was conducted targeting Coco Beach bar leading to its closure, revocation of its license, and the seizure of some alcohol for further investigation.

Makueni County Commissioner Khalif Abdullahi confirmed of an ongoing investigation into the matter.

“Barcode scanning of several bottles produced inconsistent and conflicting product information. Most bottles were identified to be of different products when scanned. Some 500 ML Jambo Ice bottles were packaged in EABL bottles. Some 500ML bottles also generated results corresponding to 750ML bottles of the same brand when scanned and the pricing of a 750ML alcohol at Ksh. 200 remained suspect,” the county commissioner, Abdullahi, revealed of the findings.

The central National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) has since received samples of the alcohol for further scientific analysis, as per the county boss.

“At this juncture is hard to link the deaths of the two to that drink. It is until we get results from NPHL and government chemistry is when we can rule on what caused their deaths,” Abdullahi stated.

Angela Musyoka, the Coco Beach bar proprietor when reached for comment accused unnamed business competitors saying they are fighting her since she is a successful businessperson in the locality.

“I don’t manufacturer any liquor anywhere. Have been accused of being a local manufacturer and deaths of people linked to drinking from my bars, that’s hatred by my enemies,” she responded.

She operates a chain of bars in Kathonzweni and Kiuku. In these localities, in 2014, over 20 people died and scores lost sight after consuming a toxic, illicit liquor known as "Countryman”. since then, authorities remained silent on who was responsible for the manufacturing and distribution of the toxic brew whose scars live on.