Beer deaths in Zambia: Ten dead after drinking tainted brew

Local police determined that Chijaba beer, which led to the deaths of 10 people in various towns in southern Zambia, was brewed from methyl alcohol, water, sugar, and shoe polish. The first two victims who consumed the drink died last Sunday. In the following days, three more died, and by the end of last week, five additional people had died. Several victims are still battling for their lives in Zambian hospitals.

Police reported on Friday evening that the number of fatalities could be significantly higher as the beer was distributed throughout the entire southern province of Zambia. All the victims suffered from severe diarrhoea, abdominal pain, and vision problems, said Zambian police spokesman Danny Mwale. This is not the first case of mass beer poisoning in Zambia. In March, in the capital Lusaka, eight people died after consuming a locally brewed drink.

In Zambia, a popular yet illegal homemade beer called kachasu is prevalent. It is made from fermented corn husks, sugar, yeast, and other additives known only to the producers. It turns out that one of those additives can be shoe polish. A 300-millilitre bottle of kachasu costs approximately 23 pence (UK) and is half the price of beer produced by large breweries.

In recent months, Zambia has seen a significant increase in the consumption of homemade alcohol, as a cholera outbreak began at the start of the year. In this African country, there is a belief that a bottle of kachasu can prevent the disease. Doctors disagree. Medical professionals warn that it is kachasu that may be contributing to the spread of the epidemic.