By Jennifer Acheng and Mike Ogwang
One person has been confirmed dead and others left in bad shape, following a fatal alcohol drinking competition in Kiru town council Abim district.
The deceased has been identified as a 25-year-old Moses Pogba Obonyo, a resident of Oyaro south village in Kiru town council.
According to reports, the drinking competition was organized on Sunday evening by a man only identified as Odong, from the same area who bought over 5 liters of crude local potent gin, commonly known as mogoquine, something that attracted unspecified number of youth including the deceased to take part in the competition.
According to eye witnesses the competition that involved taking as many shots of waragi as possible, to determine one’s ability to withstand many shots, turned out fatal as the competitors started getting weak.
Joseph Ocheng, the Oyaro south LC1 Chairperson who confirmed the incident says the deceased who emerged winner of the contest left the drinking point in bad shape, but died shortly before he could reach his home.
Ocheng says other competitors including the alcohol buyer disappeared in bad shape, and are still at large, prompting them to alert the police who took statements from eye witnesses.
Jimmy Kato Odong, the Kiru town council LC3 Chairperson described the incident as unfortunate, further noting that the youths need to be sensitized on the dangers of excessive alcohol consumption.
Kato says much as there is a bylaw rehulating alcohol consumption, it has not been enforced by the different stakeholders
Several attempts to get a comment from the Abim district police commander Peter Akampurira were futile, as he neither picked nor returned our repeated phone calls.
Currently, there is an alcohol bill dubbed Alcoholic Drinks Control Bill 2023, introduced in August 2023.
The bill proposes that alcohol sales in Uganda be restricted to 5:00 PM to 10:00 PM on weekdays and 12:00 noon to midnight on public holidays and weekends. Exceptions would be made for licensed tourist camps, nightclubs, theaters, fetes, bazaars, or trade shows. Violators could face up to 10 years in prison, a fine of 20 million Ugandan shillings, or both.
