If there is one disease that all of you avid readers of this blog should watch out for when in Africa or any other region with tropical climate, then it should be Cholera.Forget HIV/AIDS, Malaria or Gornorrhea/Syphillis for those of you who cannot resist on landing. Cholera is the real deal.
Cholera is caused by a dormant bacteria - bacterium Vibrio cholerae. (thank God for Wikipedia). A cholera outbreak can kill more than 100 people within hours, before the usually demotivated health personnel( i speak of Kenyan ones) realize what is happening.Its not cholera that i will be talking about today, but its competitor in the killing business - illicit brews.
Kenyans are still coming to terms with the death of atleast 80 people and a similar number critically ill in hospital. This departed men, women, boys and girls were victims of a poisonous alcoholic drink that they consumed on Sunday 4th May 2014. The deaths were reported in atleast 6 Kenyan counties, where the drink aptly named "countryman" with an illustration of a cowboy on top of horse was supplied.
As expected Kenyan media houses mishandled the whole issue and as per tradition sensationalized and even tribalized the matter given that these 6 counties are in close proximity to the blessed mountain of God from which the noun KENYA was coined. Comparisons of how residents from Western Kenya drink busaa, how Coastals love their palmwine and tribal undertones of how a certain community is afflicted by illicit brews were awash in mainstream media as well as gutter press.
Facebook and twiiter pundits were not left behind, and one facebooker commenting on a photo of president Uhuru inspecting a guard of honour while on official visit to the Federal state of Nigeria, asked why the president looked jovial mood while his "voters" were dying of chang'aa (Kenyan speak for Nubian gin).
The victims interviewed, stuck to the old tired line of, we-are-poor-and-we-need -alcohol-to-forget-that-we-are-poor. NACADA, an institution with the mandate to ensure Kenyans are not junkies and led by the able former alcoholic John Mututho, kept to the Kenyan tradition and quickly convened a crisis meeting. In this meeting, they came up with statistics of how may pubs were in Nairobi, and specifically Juja area in the outskirts of Nairobi. They also in haste cobbled-up obscure laws that supermarkets should not display or sell alcohol, that liquor stores should open up at 5pm. One law, that caught my attention was that of making alcohol expensive with an aim of deterring people from accessing it. This to me was a very silly law which obviously will lead to the proliferation of cheap liqour.
The solution to the problem is let Kenyans be. I love my kwang kwang and i want to drink it when that demon in my mind demands it. Reduce the tax on Senator (Obama) Keg beer and legalize safe and hygienic distillation of Nubian gin.
Cholera is caused by a dormant bacteria - bacterium Vibrio cholerae. (thank God for Wikipedia). A cholera outbreak can kill more than 100 people within hours, before the usually demotivated health personnel( i speak of Kenyan ones) realize what is happening.Its not cholera that i will be talking about today, but its competitor in the killing business - illicit brews.
Kenyans are still coming to terms with the death of atleast 80 people and a similar number critically ill in hospital. This departed men, women, boys and girls were victims of a poisonous alcoholic drink that they consumed on Sunday 4th May 2014. The deaths were reported in atleast 6 Kenyan counties, where the drink aptly named "countryman" with an illustration of a cowboy on top of horse was supplied.
As expected Kenyan media houses mishandled the whole issue and as per tradition sensationalized and even tribalized the matter given that these 6 counties are in close proximity to the blessed mountain of God from which the noun KENYA was coined. Comparisons of how residents from Western Kenya drink busaa, how Coastals love their palmwine and tribal undertones of how a certain community is afflicted by illicit brews were awash in mainstream media as well as gutter press.
Facebook and twiiter pundits were not left behind, and one facebooker commenting on a photo of president Uhuru inspecting a guard of honour while on official visit to the Federal state of Nigeria, asked why the president looked jovial mood while his "voters" were dying of chang'aa (Kenyan speak for Nubian gin).
President Uhuru Kenyatta inspecting a guard of honour mounted by Nigerian defence force
The victims interviewed, stuck to the old tired line of, we-are-poor-and-we-need -alcohol-to-forget-that-we-are-poor. NACADA, an institution with the mandate to ensure Kenyans are not junkies and led by the able former alcoholic John Mututho, kept to the Kenyan tradition and quickly convened a crisis meeting. In this meeting, they came up with statistics of how may pubs were in Nairobi, and specifically Juja area in the outskirts of Nairobi. They also in haste cobbled-up obscure laws that supermarkets should not display or sell alcohol, that liquor stores should open up at 5pm. One law, that caught my attention was that of making alcohol expensive with an aim of deterring people from accessing it. This to me was a very silly law which obviously will lead to the proliferation of cheap liqour.
The solution to the problem is let Kenyans be. I love my kwang kwang and i want to drink it when that demon in my mind demands it. Reduce the tax on Senator (Obama) Keg beer and legalize safe and hygienic distillation of Nubian gin.
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