Bootleg liquor kills at least 12 in Uganda, 18 more in hospital

By Hamza Kyeyune

KAMPALA, Uganda (AA) – At least 12 people have died and another 18 are hospitalized after consuming illegally manufactured liquor in northern Uganda, authorities confirmed on Monday.

The victims were part of a large group that drank waragi, a locally made gin, at a bar in the northwestern city of Arua on Aug. 18, according to officials.

The deceased, all of them men between the ages of 43 and 53, died either at home or at hospitals.

Both the bar and the factory where the alcohol was made have been sealed, said Josephine Angucia, police spokesperson in the West Nile region.

She said the factory was not certified by the Uganda National Bureau of Standards.

“We have taken four factory workers into custody and they are assisting us in the investigation,” she told Anadolu Agency, adding that samples of the liquor have been sent for testing.

According to Angucia, the woman who owns the bar was also among those hospitalized.

Drinking remains widespread in Uganda, to the extent that it has become a source of social concern.

Consumption of cheap, bootleg alcohol has led to many such incidents in the past.

One of the deadliest was back in April 2010, when some 80 people died after drinking alcohol laced with methanol in southwestern Uganda.