Police battle youths over ‘free’ alcohol

OCTOBER 2013 |  BY- MUTHINI STEPHEN @STEVEMUTHINY SMUTHINI@KE.NATIONMEDIA.COM

When a truck carrying alcohol rolled into a ditch on Monday, the usual light note remark that Kenya is a drinking nation stopped looking like a joke.

Controlling the hundreds of thirsty Nyeri residents who wanted to be allowed to drink the alcohol at Marua on the Kiganjo- Nanyuki road became the primary agenda for the police.

The fact that the accident occurred in broad daylight, at 3pm ensured that the crowd was huge.

Part of that crowd gathered at the scene had been transported to the spot by tens of boda boda motorcycles from as far as Karatina, some 20 kilometres away.

The young men and women spirited away some spirits in 250 millilitre bottles before police arrived.

They hid the loot in a nearby maize farm and some stood guard with pangas as others went for more. A young man was slashed with a panga as he tried to invade another man’s loot which was “safely” stashed away.

But it is the police who had hard time trying to guard the few bottles of spirits that remained. They stood with their guns on the ready, trying to repel the crowd which kept on pushing and shouting to be allowed to have “their right”.

“We want our right. It’s our luck,” the rowdy crowd chanted, some seemingly inebriated by the spirits they had already taken.

The five police officers on guard were seemingly getting overwhelmed, and had to call for reinforcement from the Administration Police who arrived when things were almost getting out of control.

Some women claimed they were not after drinking but wanted to sell the alcohol and get food for children.

“We just want to search for something for the kids,” one could be heard saying.

Some youth accused the officers of stashing away bottles of alcohol in the boot of their patrol car and said there was no reason for them to prevent the youth from enjoying the rest.

The officers however adamantly prevented the youths from looting some more and the remaining bottles were taken away from the scene.

It was not clear what caused the accident but an eye-witness said the lorry started wavering before rolling into the ditch near River Sagana.

The driver however escaped unhurt, but was not available for comment.