Kenya Original (KO) Drink Marred With Toxicity Claims, Consumers Hospitalized

A fairly good number of consumers of Kenyan Originals (KO), the alcoholic brand under the African Originals umbrella have made claims of toxicity in their range of cider beverages and taking to the internet to share their horrid tales after consuming the drink.

For the better part of the week, several consumers of the KO alcoholic drinks took to X (formerly Twitter) to share tales of their unsavoury experiences after consuming the KO ciders.

On January 16, an X user going by the username Indigo kicked off the conversation after sharing her experience after taking the KO ciders.

Complaining of “suffering” for two days after taking the drink, the consumer wondered what methodology the producers used in their distillery.

“KO needs to go back to their distillery and check what they messed up. My goodness! 2 days later, I am still suffering. For now, they just lost me as a customer!” she lamented.

Almost immediately, more affected consumers came forward to share their hangover nightmares too.

X user @babychira also chimed in, sharing a photo of her hand while receiving a drip at the hospital, saying, “I took a bottle of KO on Thursday night and this was me on Friday. This was my second experience…kama wanataka kutuua waseme for real!”

As more and more people joined the conversation, one other consumer shared their experience, saying, “Last week that KO Cider almost sent my sister and cousin to hospital. Good thing they stopped at their second bottle and had water to dilute that s**t… For me it was their passion that I tasted and felt like I’m having some busaa!”

KO has since acknowledged complaints from consumers and announced on Wednesday that they’re investigating the matter.

Assuring their consumers of safety, the brand issued a statement on their Instagram page, “”We are aware of the recent concerns raised regarding our KO Cider beverages and want to assure you that we take all issues related to our products seriously. Our commitment to thoroughly investigate this matter reflects our dedication to the safety and well-being of our consumers, which remains our top priority,” read the statement.

“We adhere to stringent quality control measures, working closely with regulatory authorities to ensure the safety of our beverages. We have already initiated contact with all consumers who expressed concerns and eagerly await their feedback.”

Its unclear if the government agencies are also taking the matter up given the growing number of complaints from the consumers in the light of consumer safety concerns.