Gulu authorities are up in arms against the merchants of death
WHEN I came back from the US news broke that some people were falling ill, going blind and even dying after consuming local potent gin. This drink goes by many names —<i>enguli, lira lira, Kasese Kasese, odete, apye anyoni</i>. The names are legion.
LETTER FROM GULU - Nobert Mao
WHEN I came back from the US news broke that some people were falling ill, going blind and even dying after consuming local potent gin. This drink goes by many names —enguli, lira lira, Kasese Kasese, odete, apye anyoni. The names are legion.
The last one, apye anyoni can crudely be translated to mean “I can leap and kick youâ€. This refers to the aggressive tendencies by those who take this drink.
I asked my deputy to spearhead a radio campaign and to convene a consultative meeting of the councillors (something akin to a caucus of the whole House).
Thus, last Saturday we met and received reports about the situation. We learnt that over 20 people had succumbed to the effects of the toxic concoction. We also learnt that the hospital had received over 50 people in critical condition. Our meeting resolved that only a strict implementation of the Enguli Act could help.
We agreed to convene an emergency sitting of the District Council where we would table a resolution banning the obnoxious liquid and setting up a Task Force to ensure compliance, to educate the public about the health hazards associated with Enguli, to offer support to victims and their dependants and to recommend alternative means of livelihood for those dependent on selling enguli.
After the meeting, we all walked to the Gulu Regional Hospital to visit the sick and talk to the doctors and nurses. Dr. Michael Kisige confirmed that the patients showed signs of having drunk enguli laced with methanol. The effects of methanol, he said, were stomach upsets, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of eyesight and even death. At the hospital we saw several patients in various stages of anguish.
About 10 were lying unconscious. Anxious and distraught relatives crowded the hospital ward. In one corner of the ward, a lady in her early 20s was struggling to drink packed juice using a straw. I noticed that she was not able to get the straw into her mouth. The nurse told us that she was was from Lawatomer (which ironically means “drunken herdsmanâ€). She is a mother of a little child. A few days earlier she had gone with friends to drink enguli. Her vision became blurry and she blacked out. After treatment she recovered consciousness but her eyesight was gone.
We asked Dr. Kisige whether it was possible for the blind to recover their eyesight. He told us that the blindness was irreversible because the methanol attacks and destroys the optic nerves. Some of the stories we have heard border on the bizzare. In one village a small group of men was drinking in a hut at night. A kerosene lamp provided light. Then one of the men asked why the lamp had been put out yet they were still having fun drinking. Little did he know that he was already on the way to total blindness!
From the hospital we went to Paicho on Kitgum road. A lorry carrying 400 jerrycans (8,000 litres) of enguli had been impounded by the Police. The driver was instructed to take the lorry to Gulu Central Police Station but he claimed that he did not have enough fuel. Yet he was heading to Kitgum. The lorry was taken to the Police post.
When the driver was told that fuel would be brought he claimed that there was a mechanical problem with the lorry. We learnt of the dilemma facing the Police and decided to step in. We headed to Paicho and with the help of volunteers from the nearby trading centre, offloaded, poured down and set ablaze the entire consignment. With the lorry relieved of its load, we were not at all surprised that it was able to start and continue on its journey!
The officer in command of the Police post, Mr. Obwong, was offered sh750,000 as a bribe by the owner of the load should he agree to release the liquor. He stood his ground and refused to succumb to the temptation of money. He told us that given his low salary, he agonised over the offer but his conscience told him that by accepting the bribe and siding with the merchants of death, he would be an accomplice in the death and illness of so many people. Obwong joins our list of everyday heroes for defying the law of greed by following his conscience.
The next day, a Sunday, we convened a public rally to show to the people that all leaders were united against the proliferation of the toxic liquor. Despite the very short notice, a sizeable number came to Kaunda Grounds to hear us. The politicians, the security agencies, the traditional institution, the medics and religious leaders stood together for a common cause. We brought 60 jerrycans of enguli (1200 litres) to destroy publicly.
Before we could proceed, a lady came up with a confession that she was hoarding 150 jerrycans and she wished to hand them over for destruction. That day we destroyed 210 jerrycans (4,200 litres). Two days later, we destroyed another 1,511 jerrycans.
Altogether we have publicly destroyed 2,121 jerrycans of the crude stuff (42,420 litres)! Since the doctors say only 10 millilitres of methanol-laden liquor is enough to kill, then hypothetically speaking, what we have destroyed would be enough to kill over 42 million people. That is more than the entire population of Uganda and Rwanda!
Dr. Kisige gave the medical perspective. This gave scientific credence to our crusade. The Regional Police Commander said the problem was not the lack o a legal framework. “The law is there and it is very clear but the Police has not been able to enforce it effectively because of political interference. Now that the politicians are with us, we shall effectively enforce the Enguli Act,†he said.
During the rally, we made it clear that under the law, those licensed to distil liquor must take it to factories were it is refined. In other words, the possession, consumption and sale of crude liquor is illegal. The assembled people urged us not to stop only at combating alcoholism but also to deal with prostitution, the video halls that disrupt schools, and noisy pubs and discotheques.
On November 11, the District Council adopted a resolution declaring a total ban on all crude liquor and all other liquor made in Kampala by makeshift distilleries and packed in plastic bottles and sachets. These target the poor because one can virtually get a drink for as low as sh100. A Task Force was set up to ensure the Enguli Act is enforced. We believe that our strong action to stop the proliferation of crude liquor is but one step in dealing with war trauma which leads people to lean on alcohol as a crutch.
We have taken a small step but as the Chinese say, even the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Mao is Gulu District LC 5 chairperson
WHEN I came back from the US news broke that some people were falling ill, going blind and even dying after consuming local potent gin. This drink goes by many names —enguli, lira lira, Kasese Kasese, odete, apye anyoni. The names are legion.
The last one, apye anyoni can crudely be translated to mean “I can leap and kick youâ€. This refers to the aggressive tendencies by those who take this drink.
I asked my deputy to spearhead a radio campaign and to convene a consultative meeting of the councillors (something akin to a caucus of the whole House).
Thus, last Saturday we met and received reports about the situation. We learnt that over 20 people had succumbed to the effects of the toxic concoction. We also learnt that the hospital had received over 50 people in critical condition. Our meeting resolved that only a strict implementation of the Enguli Act could help.
We agreed to convene an emergency sitting of the District Council where we would table a resolution banning the obnoxious liquid and setting up a Task Force to ensure compliance, to educate the public about the health hazards associated with Enguli, to offer support to victims and their dependants and to recommend alternative means of livelihood for those dependent on selling enguli.
After the meeting, we all walked to the Gulu Regional Hospital to visit the sick and talk to the doctors and nurses. Dr. Michael Kisige confirmed that the patients showed signs of having drunk enguli laced with methanol. The effects of methanol, he said, were stomach upsets, dizziness, shortness of breath, loss of eyesight and even death. At the hospital we saw several patients in various stages of anguish.
About 10 were lying unconscious. Anxious and distraught relatives crowded the hospital ward. In one corner of the ward, a lady in her early 20s was struggling to drink packed juice using a straw. I noticed that she was not able to get the straw into her mouth. The nurse told us that she was was from Lawatomer (which ironically means “drunken herdsmanâ€). She is a mother of a little child. A few days earlier she had gone with friends to drink enguli. Her vision became blurry and she blacked out. After treatment she recovered consciousness but her eyesight was gone.
We asked Dr. Kisige whether it was possible for the blind to recover their eyesight. He told us that the blindness was irreversible because the methanol attacks and destroys the optic nerves. Some of the stories we have heard border on the bizzare. In one village a small group of men was drinking in a hut at night. A kerosene lamp provided light. Then one of the men asked why the lamp had been put out yet they were still having fun drinking. Little did he know that he was already on the way to total blindness!
From the hospital we went to Paicho on Kitgum road. A lorry carrying 400 jerrycans (8,000 litres) of enguli had been impounded by the Police. The driver was instructed to take the lorry to Gulu Central Police Station but he claimed that he did not have enough fuel. Yet he was heading to Kitgum. The lorry was taken to the Police post.
When the driver was told that fuel would be brought he claimed that there was a mechanical problem with the lorry. We learnt of the dilemma facing the Police and decided to step in. We headed to Paicho and with the help of volunteers from the nearby trading centre, offloaded, poured down and set ablaze the entire consignment. With the lorry relieved of its load, we were not at all surprised that it was able to start and continue on its journey!
The officer in command of the Police post, Mr. Obwong, was offered sh750,000 as a bribe by the owner of the load should he agree to release the liquor. He stood his ground and refused to succumb to the temptation of money. He told us that given his low salary, he agonised over the offer but his conscience told him that by accepting the bribe and siding with the merchants of death, he would be an accomplice in the death and illness of so many people. Obwong joins our list of everyday heroes for defying the law of greed by following his conscience.
The next day, a Sunday, we convened a public rally to show to the people that all leaders were united against the proliferation of the toxic liquor. Despite the very short notice, a sizeable number came to Kaunda Grounds to hear us. The politicians, the security agencies, the traditional institution, the medics and religious leaders stood together for a common cause. We brought 60 jerrycans of enguli (1200 litres) to destroy publicly.
Before we could proceed, a lady came up with a confession that she was hoarding 150 jerrycans and she wished to hand them over for destruction. That day we destroyed 210 jerrycans (4,200 litres). Two days later, we destroyed another 1,511 jerrycans.
Altogether we have publicly destroyed 2,121 jerrycans of the crude stuff (42,420 litres)! Since the doctors say only 10 millilitres of methanol-laden liquor is enough to kill, then hypothetically speaking, what we have destroyed would be enough to kill over 42 million people. That is more than the entire population of Uganda and Rwanda!
Dr. Kisige gave the medical perspective. This gave scientific credence to our crusade. The Regional Police Commander said the problem was not the lack o a legal framework. “The law is there and it is very clear but the Police has not been able to enforce it effectively because of political interference. Now that the politicians are with us, we shall effectively enforce the Enguli Act,†he said.
During the rally, we made it clear that under the law, those licensed to distil liquor must take it to factories were it is refined. In other words, the possession, consumption and sale of crude liquor is illegal. The assembled people urged us not to stop only at combating alcoholism but also to deal with prostitution, the video halls that disrupt schools, and noisy pubs and discotheques.
On November 11, the District Council adopted a resolution declaring a total ban on all crude liquor and all other liquor made in Kampala by makeshift distilleries and packed in plastic bottles and sachets. These target the poor because one can virtually get a drink for as low as sh100. A Task Force was set up to ensure the Enguli Act is enforced. We believe that our strong action to stop the proliferation of crude liquor is but one step in dealing with war trauma which leads people to lean on alcohol as a crutch.
We have taken a small step but as the Chinese say, even the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.
Mao is Gulu District LC 5 chairperson