Riuriro: Juja residents change estate name to fight alcoholism

Inhabitants of Riuriro, (Kikuyu word for 'hiding place'), told Wananchi Reporting that the name is to blame for drug abuse, broken marriages and stunted growth in the area.

Although the village is barely three kilometres from Thika Superhighway at Kenyatta Road shopping centre, it has been overtaken by other areas in the interior, like Ndarasha in terms of development.

“Alcoholism is a serious problem in this area. We suspect that the name of the village, and the history behind it, are to blame for this menace. We changed it to do away with that spirit of drug abuse,” area Chief John Kuria said.

The area was renamed Judah, and a big church crusade held to cleanse the place.

Chief Kuria told Wananchi Reporting that renaming the place has improved its image and attracted investors most of whom are putting up homes in the area. He, however, noted that they are struggling with an influx of second-generation illicit alcohol.

“This place was the home of chang’aa which we managed to fight. The problem now is consumption of new generation brew. The youth, especially from families that settled here first, are also still abusing drugs,” he revealed.

So, how did the jinxed name Riuriro come about? According to Mburu Warui, the Chairman Council of Elders in the area, the name was coined by drunkards in early 1990s.

It started with a female chang’aa brewer who fled from the nearby Matangi area to avoid crackdown on illicit brews.

She sought refuge here, then an undeveloped place, and continued to brew the illegal drink.

“Drunkards would flock to the den, and some stayed for weeks without going back to their homes. That is how they christened the place 'the hideout'. This is a doomed name, and we are trying to do away with it,” Warui narrated.