Bottled despair: How alcohol is silently wiping out a generation
By Faith Lagat, July 25, 2025Kenya’s rural counties are in the grip of a silent epidemic—one that threatens to erode an entire generation. Youth alcoholism, fuelled by toxic illicit brews, staggering unemployment, and a lack of support systems, is tightening its grip in regions like Nandi, Elgeyo Marakwet, Baringo, and parts of Central Kenya.
While the government, led by Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen, has launched a forceful campaign targeting the supply of illegal alcohol, the root causes—poverty, joblessness, and systemic neglect—remain largely unaddressed.
Having witnessed firsthand the scope of this crisis in Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo, it is evident that unless holistic interventions are adopted, we risk not only losing young lives but also mortgaging our nation’s future.
Cheap brews, high costs
The availability of illicit alcohol, commonly referred to as chang’aa or second-generation brews, has spiralled into a public health crisis. Often laced with industrial ethanol and other toxic substances, these drinks are dangerously cheap—costing as little as 10 shillings per sachet—and widely accessible.
A 2019 study conducted in Nairobi’s Soweto slum revealed that unrecorded alcohol dominates low-income areas and poses serious health risks. Similar patterns have taken root in rural counties, where brewing dens thrive along riverbanks and in remote villages, often under the blind eye—or collusion—of local authorities.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, unregulated bars are now more common than community centres. In Baringo, residents speak of entire shopping centres reduced to daytime drinking zones. According to a 2023 Kenya National Bureau of Statistics report, youth unemployment in these regions hovers around 30 per cent, making alcohol an easy escape from daily despair. In Iten, young men have openly admitted they drink to “forget the struggle.” This is not casual indulgence; it is a desperate coping mechanism.
A generation on the brink
The consequences of this widespread addiction are devastating. In Central Kenya, former Mukurweini MP Kabando wa Kabando has been vocal about the surge in deaths linked to toxic brews. “We’re losing young men daily to suicides and alcohol-related illnesses,” he said recently, lamenting that political theatrics have taken precedence over real solutions.
NACADA’s data supports this grim outlook. Their 2019 report estimated that 13 per cent of Kenyans aged 15–65 consume alcohol, with the highest prevalence among those aged 18–24. This is the demographic meant to drive Kenya’s economy. Instead, they are trapped in a toxic cycle of hopelessness, addiction, and abandonment.
Crackdowns without cure
CS Murkomen has launched a bold, visible response. During a security forum in Nandi County on July 24, he declared war on rogue businesspeople behind the illicit alcohol trade, placing corrupt law enforcement officers on notice.
Operations across Rift Valley, Central, and Eastern Kenya have led to raids, arrests, and seizures of thousands of litres of illegal brews. Murkomen praised community policing and security collaboration in Nandi County, calling it a model of peace.
These interventions are necessary—but not sufficient. While shutting down brewing dens and suspending licenses may create short-term disruptions, they often fail to dent the demand. In Baringo, residents recall how 50 illegal bars were shut down in 2024—only for new ones to resurface months later.
In Elgeyo Marakwet, brewers simply relocate deeper into inaccessible areas. This is a game of cat and mouse that will not end unless the drivers of demand—unemployment, depression, and neglect—are addressed.
Even the well-meaning policy by NACADA to raise the legal drinking age to 21 and ban alcohol advertising has been undermined by weak enforcement.
Real intervention
The real work lies beyond police operations. Vocational training and job creation must be central to this fight. A 2024 county evaluation in Elgeyo Marakwet found that a pilot agribusiness program targeting idle youth led to a 15 per cent drop in alcohol consumption among its participants.
Yet, across both Elgeyo Marakwet and Baringo, youth empowerment programs remain underfunded, reaching only about 10 per cent of eligible individuals.
Kenya can draw lessons from a 2019 Ugandan study showing that vocational skills training significantly reduced alcohol use among jobless youth. But rather than scaling up such initiatives, resources continue to pour into punitive measures and security infrastructure.
Murkomen recently announced plans to build more police posts and administrative units under the NG-CDF. While important for security, this focus risks missing the more urgent need for economic and psychological rehabilitation.
Mental health support is perhaps the biggest missing link. Most families can’t afford transport to access the rehab facilities, let alone treatment. NACADA’s 2025 report showed that over half of Kenyans have used drugs or alcohol in their lifetime—and young women, especially university students, are increasingly at risk. Without accessible counselling services, awareness campaigns, and community-based rehab programs, the cycle of addiction will persist.
Saving more than lives
The government’s supply-side approach, though commendable in intention, cannot substitute for long-term investment in prevention and recovery. Alcoholism is not just a criminal issue—it is a public health crisis with deep economic roots.
We need coordinated interventions that blend enforcement with opportunity creation, treatment, and hope.
Murkomen’s campaign can succeed, but only if it evolves. Empowering youth with skills, jobs, and purpose is not just about saving lives—it’s about saving Kenya’s future. Because the truth is, we are not just losing individuals to alcohol. We are losing our potential, our progress, and our promise as a nation.