Relationships counsellor Pastor Susan Munene has opened up about her firm stance against alcohol consumption, revealing that her decision to completely avoid it stems from painful memories of how it destroyed families and continues to contribute to Kenya’s growing health burden.
Speaking during an interview with a local TV station on Saturday, July 12, 2025, Pastor Sue said she has never tasted alcohol in her life, not even the symbolic wine served in church, and sees no reason to ever do so.
She explained that during church services where wine is required, she opts for Ribena instead, a choice she said reflects her commitment to staying away from alcohol in all forms.
“I have never tasted even. Even the church wine I do not have. For such purposes, we drink the Ribena wine. Sadly, people drink daily. When you drink daily, there are a lot of things you are destroying.
“When you keep cheering, it can become a chain of prison. What you thought was a cheer cheers; you can easily find yourself in addiction, noting that her resolve is deeply personal and shaped by what she witnessed while growing up,” Susan said.
Consequences
Pastor Susan recounted how she saw alcohol tear apart families close to her, destroying not just marriages but also children’s futures.
These experiences, she said, led her to vow that she would never let alcohol become a part of her life.
“What I saw as a child — homes broken, children hurt, lives wasted — made it clear that alcohol was not the way. It was enough to convince me that this trend leads nowhere good.”
She went on to condemn the casual attitude many have developed towards drinking, especially those who consume alcohol daily.
According to her, what often begins as celebratory “cheers” can easily evolve into a hidden chain of addiction. She warned that the habit slowly imprisons the mind, alters thinking, and becomes difficult to break, all while silently draining health, money, and mental clarity.
“And I vowed that I would never take it. I could tell from what I grew up seeing that this trend is not the way. You can imagine how much money has gone to waste, and there is no vitamin it gives you.
“At the end of the day, you find a lot of people spending so much money instead of educating their kids with that money or even themselves. Something happens in the mind; your mind is a powerhouse, and when you mess with your thinking, then you don’t have another brain,” she added.
She further highlighted alcohol’s link to serious health conditions, stating that it contributes to at least seven types of cancer.
In her view, people who drink daily are exposing their bodies to a slow but steady attack, especially on the liver, an organ she described as having more than 500 vital functions a day.
“One of the things people need to understand about the side effects of alcoholism is that it’s one of the causes of cancer. It causes seven types of cancer, actually. And so people drink, and you can’t be drinking on a daily basis. Your liver has over 500 functions in a day.
“No alcohol or medication is reported first. And so when you keep taking alcohol, you are predisposing yourself to cancer, and now imagine the cancer burden we have as a country.”
Drawing attention to the financial toll, Pastor Susan lamented how much money is wasted on alcohol.
She said many Kenyans prioritise drinking over more important needs like educating their children or improving their own lives.
“You find people spending thousands on alcohol while their children go without fees, or they themselves remain stuck in poverty,” she said.
