At least nine more people died after consuming illicit brew suspected to have been laced with methanol in Kibera slum in Kenya's capital Nairobi, bring the toll to 19, police confirmed on Wednesday.
Six people died on arrival at the Kenyatta National Hospital while three middle-aged men were reported to have died on their way to hospital after they complained of stomach-related complications.
Kibera residents feared that more people may die since many of the victims are in a serious condition and a large number are now blind.
Nairobi Police chief Anthony Kibuchi said more people died on Monday night and Tuesday but most of those who were admitted to hospital have been
discharged.
Kibuchi said more victims have been hospitalized, complaining of stomach pains after drinking the brew popularly known as changa'a or "kumi kumi."
Police said tests conducted on samples of the lethal brew had indicated it contained methanol, a colorless volatile poisonous water-soluble liquid which is mainly used as a solvent, fuel or in antifreeze for motor vehicles.
Six people, including a young woman, who consumed the moonshine on Sunday night were found dead in their houses on Monday morning, while bodies of
four others were discovered in footpaths later on Monday.
Changa'a, known locally as "kill-me-quick" because of its potentially lethal properties, is brewed in hundreds of illegal drinking dens in Nairobi and across Kenya.
At about 10 shillings (about 10 U.S. cents) a shot, the drink offers a much cheaper way of getting drunk than highly taxed legal beers and spirits.
Kibuchi said the police arrested 51 people during a raid for allegedly possessing changa'a.
The incident came barely a week after four people were killed and dozens others were blinded after consuming the illicit brew in Kiambu, about 20 km
east of Nairobi.
In April this year, at least nine people died after consuming illicit brew in Nairobi's Shauri Moyo residential estate where more than 20 other people were blinded.
The incident forced angry residents to demolish the changa'a den and vowed to pull down more structures where the brew is sold within the estate, even as they demonstrated.
The police have tried, sometimes reluctantly to crack down on the brewing and consumption of illicit liquor but with minimal success.
Kibuchi said a woman suspected to be behind the brewing of the lethal drink has been arrested and is helping the police with investigations.
In August 1998 more than 80 people died south of Nairobi after drinking changa'a laced with methanol. The brew is often made by widows who depend on the trade for their livelihood.