- Police in Kisii County have launched a manhunt for a suspect accused of luring a Grade 3 pupil into drinking illicit brew.
- A medical examination at Keumbu Sub-County Hospital has confirmed that the 8-year-old boy was intoxicated after being enticed by a neighbour.
- Human rights activists have condemned the incident and called for swift arrest and prosecution of the suspect under the Children’s Act.
Police in Kisii County are pursuing a suspect accused of luring an 8-year-old Grade 3 pupil into drinking illicit local brew, in an incident that has renewed concern over child safety in Keumbu’s Amabiria Village.
The boy’s mother told police she arrived home in the evening, as rain fell, to find her son missing. After searching for him for several hours, she was alarmed to find him staggering and falling in the rain while talking incoherently.
Believing the child was unwell, she rushed him to Keumbu Sub-County Hospital, where a medical examination established that he was drunk rather than sick.
Once he regained consciousness, the boy was questioned and told how a neighbour known in the village as a notorious brewer had enticed him into drinking the illicit alcohol.
“I refused to take the beer because my father had warned me not to, but he forced me, and I got drunk and collapsed on the way,” the minor said.
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The mother reported the incident to the area Chief, who directed her to record a statement at Keumbu Police Station so that the suspect could be arrested. By press time, the suspect remained at large.
Kisii-based human rights activist Elijah Orina has condemned the incident, calling on police to move quickly to investigate and arrest the suspect so he can face prosecution.
Orina said exposing children to alcohol constitutes child abuse and threatens the future of learners, and urged security agencies together with the children’s department to take firm action against perpetrators of such acts.
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Under Sections 25 and 29 of the Children’s Act, 2022, giving intoxicating liquor to a child is a criminal offence that prohibits cruelty to children and their exposure to drugs and alcohol, carrying a penalty of up to five years in jail or a fine of up to Sh2 million. The act also violates Section 32 of the Alcoholic Drinks Control Act, 2010, and Section 144 of the Penal Code, Cap 63, on cruelty to children.
By Enock Okong’o
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