Since President Uhuru Kenyatta announced the reopening of bars on Monday, September 28, chaos has been reported in parts of the country with three fatalities recorded.
On the very day of the Presidential address, a security guard in a bar was beaten to death in a retaliatory attack after he allegedly killed a reveler on Sunday at Makongeni Estate, Thika.
In a separate incident, the next day, a man was also killed in a bar at Kathonzweni Market, Makueni County on Tuesday, September 29, by two unknown assailants who raided the joint.
The latest incident brings the number of deaths from bar brawls to three since the beginning of the week and two since Uhuru announced the reopening.
The two assailants who reigned terror in Kathonzweni walked into the bar posing as revelers but 30 minutes after buying drinks, they ordered everyone to lie on the floor.
According to Kathonzweni Sub-County Police Commander Peter Nthiga, the incident happened at around 10 p.m. when bars were expected to be closing.
The two gunmen are said to have made away with Ksh28,000 from the club and other revelers in the night raid.
Police have launched investigations into the matter and suspect the deceased might have been pursued by the assailants for reasons yet to be established.
The body of the deceased who was shot from close range was taken at a private morgue in Wote Town.
In the Makongeni incident, a reveler was allegedly beaten to death by a security guard in the bar after a disagreement on Sunday, September 27.
The security guard was descended upon with blows and kicks on Monday in a revenge mission that left the bar extensively destroyed.
Revelers across the country thronged bars on Tuesday following their reopening under strict guidelines outlined by the Ministry of Health.
The opening came weeks after the government and the East African Breweries Limited partnered to permit two bars to operate under strict guidelines in a pilot that has informed containment measures in entertainment joints.
These include the setting up of hand sanitization points and fitting perspex screens to separate tables.
