Former Kiambu Governor William Kabogo once had a close shave with death after a consignment of illicit liquor exploded a few metres from where he was standing.
The incident occurred on July 9, 2015, as Kabogo, who was governor then, and other county officials gathered to witness the destruction of the consignment of over 10 tonnes of beer bottles that had been nabbed at a godown in Thika the day before.
In the video, Kabogo is seen running for his dear life after the bottles of liquor exploded, sending a huge fireball hurtling towards where he was standing.
Kabogo had intensified the fight against illicit brew in the county following a directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta.
A day prior to the incident, four Kiambu residents had died from alcohol withdrawal, after being admitted to a hospital in the area.
“We have a team at the Thika Level Five Hospital which is ready and waiting to deal with withdrawal symptoms. We received 10 people yesterday but unfortunately, we lost four. We encourage Kenyans to bring anyone who is finding it difficult dealing with withdrawal symptoms to hospital and we shall take care of them,” said Kabogo.
The county, which is now under the leadership of Ferdinand Waititu is still grappling with the illicit brew menace.
Waititu recently launched a rehabilitation programme where addicts receive Sh400 daily after doing menial jobs for the county.
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