The government has announced it will reinstate chiefs and assistant chiefs in Kirinyaga County who had been interdicted following the deaths of 17 people after consuming illicit alcohol.

Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen said the officials had been unfairly punished, noting that they had been actively working to curb the sale of illegal brews but were undermined by weaknesses in the judicial system.

“After evaluating the situation, it seems it was not these chiefs’ fault. They were fighting illicit alcohol, but when the culprits are taken to court, they are freed,” Murkomen said during a visit to Kirinyaga.

“We have decided to reinstate them; we are finalising that process, and they will all resume work.”

The CS pointed to what he termed a “judicial problem” in handling illicit alcohol cases, saying repeat offenders often return to the trade after being released by the courts.

The government last year interdicted two chiefs and their assistant after the death of 17 people who had consumed illegal brew at Kirinyaga’s Kangai and Kandongu villages.

While giving the order, then-Deputy President Gachagua had said that the four, together with local police officers, failed to end the trade of deadly liquor in their locations.

It, however, drew sharp criticism from some local leaders and residents, who argued that the officials were being scapegoated for broader enforcement challenges.