Uganda loses great Maths teacher to alcohol

Dec 29, 2018

Richard Odoi, a mathematics teacher, died after consuming alcohol for four consecutive days. According to the locals, Odoi died after his friends gave him sachets of alcohol, which he drank on an empty stomach according to the locals in Rubona.

TEACHER BUNYANGABU

A secondary school teacher at Rubona Secondary School in Bunyangabu district has died due to excessive drinking of alcohol.

Richard Odoi, a mathematics teacher, died after consuming alcohol for four consecutive days. According to the locals, Odoi died after his friends gave him sachets of alcohol, which he drank on an empty stomach according to the locals in Rubona.

Odoi's body was taken to Fort Portal regional referral hospital where a medical report indicated that he had died due to excessive consumption of alcohol.

The report says that he drunk for many days on an empty stomach. Odoi had collapsed and died instantly at Rubona Trading Centre.

Jackson Kamara, a village leader, said Odoi has been drinking since Christmas day, saying his friends had tried to stop him in vain.

How alcohol kills
Since alcohol begins affecting people when it reaches the blood, our level of intoxication is measured in blood alcohol content (BAC). This refers to the weight of pure ethanol per unit of blood (a BAC of 0.1 means 0.1 percent of your blood is alcohol).

When a person drinks heavily, central nervous system function deteriorates in a predictable way — first cognitive function is decreased, followed by motor and sensory control, then finally the functions we think of as automatic, like breathing and heartbeat.

Here's where things get deadly: A person with a BAC around 0.4% will lose control of their breathing and heart rate, which can become so depressed they fall into a coma.

There's a high possibility of death at this point, but how do you know when you're getting to this point if the alcohol has already ravaged your cognitive abilities? The best way is to avoid uncontrolled drinking.

"We have missed a lot because Odoi has been one of the best teachers at the school and his death is a great loss to the district of Bunyangabu," Kamara said.

The Rwenzori west regional Police spokesperson, Lydia Tumushabe, said the Police had cleared the relatives to bury the deceased.

"We received reports on Friday evening that a teacher had died of alcohol and we picked the body which we took to the hospital for postmortem and indeed the report indicated that he had died of causes related to over drinking," Tumushabe said.

This is the latest death to occur amid a ban on the sale of potent gin packed in sachets in Bunyangabu by the local leaders.

Many districts have passed bylaws banning the sale and consumption of sachet alcohol.

Early this year, Bunyangabu district council passed resolution banning the sale and consumption of alcohol in sachets, but the law remains on paper.

Alcohol has killed several people across the districts of Kabarole and Bunyangabu and has drawn the attention of the health authorities, who have slapped a ban on the sale of the liquor packed in sachets.

Early this month a bodaboda cyclist only identified as Bright was killed by alcohol in Fort Portal after engaging in drinking competitions.

The drinking competitions which held at Mpanga Market were sponsored by teachers who had got their salary on the fateful day.

Meanwhile, in Kasese, more than 20 people were recently arrested and detained at Kasese police station, for going on drinking sprees.

Many of the detainees are civil servants working with different local governments in the Rwenzori region.