A local government official told state television in Mozambique that not less than 69 people died over the weekend in Mozambique after drinking home-brewed beer. Reuters report:
The mass poisoning
occurred when people
attending a funeral on
Friday in the village of
Chitima in central
Mozambique fell ill, with seven fatalities initially confirmed on Saturday morning.
“As we prepared to
determine the cause of death of people we began to receive a lot of people with diarrhea and other
muscle aches. After that we began to receive dead bodies from several neighborhoods,” Paula Bernardo, the district director for Health, Women and Social Action, told the
public broadcaster.
She said at least 169
remained in hospital.
Samples of the brew and suspicious objects found inside the drum have been sent to the National Laboratory in the capital Maputo for testing.
Home brews concocted from corn, sorghum or other crops are commonly
consumed in many parts of Africa and funerals on the
continent are often
accompanied by drinking and feasting. [hupso]
