The community of Ntabozuko, formerly known as Berlin, in the Eastern Cape is still coming to terms with the deaths of three people after they had consumed a homemade alcohol concoction.
Alcohol remains banned under lockdown Alert Level 4. There have been at least 19 reported cases of people who have died in the province due to consumption of homemade brews since the start of the lockdown in March last year.
One resident in the area, Linda Malinga says law enforcement agencies should do more to clamp down on these homemade concoctions.
“I said to other people who do this brewery they must not do it, they must stop. It’s not right. They don’t know the consequences of this thing.”
The spokesperson for the Eastern Cape Liquor Board, Mgwebi Msiya, has warned about the dangers of consuming homemade concoctions.
“We are very concerned they can be very dangerous to the health of our people. So we are very close with SAPS to actually monitor to ensure that we enforce compliance and we identify the communities that continue to try these homemade brews. Our inspectors are all over the province making sure we identify these areas, they close them immediately.”
Residents want justice after the latest fatalities due to home-brewed alcohol concoctions
Fatal homebrews
Homebrews were fatal as in the case of two Bloemfontein girls, aged 20 and 24, who died after consuming a homemade concoction on New Year’s Eve in 2020. It allegedly contained soft drinks, methylated spirits, paraffin, yeast, Disprin tablets and even match sticks.
Dr. Tiny Mhinga, a medical practitioner based in Johannesburg, says these kinds of homebrews and binge drinking are risky.
“People have given it different names. There are many variants of these things. But the common threat with all of these is that it’s an alcohol that can damage your liver so quickly. Even with ordinary drinkable alcohol the ones that people are using if you could drink it every day in huge quantities. Things such as whisky, gin, brandy, and vodka that in itself can cause immediate damage to your liver that can also lead to death.”
However, not all brews made at home are dangerous, says Oscar Michael, a club owner. He says it has been part of African tradition.
“Our elderly used to do this and we normally call it scomfana. We grew up knowing it. But those people knew exactly what to put in at what measure. So it’s important that whatever that you do if you want to try it at home make sure you know exactly what you are doing. Otherwise, it will be fatal.”
Shock as two women die after drinking homemade alcohol:
