Changaa
Encyclopedia
Changaa or Chang'aa is an alcoholic drink which is popular in Kenya
. Distilled from grains like millet
, maize
and sorghum
, it is very potent. Its production and distribution is controlled in many cases by criminal gangs like the Mungiki
. Gang violence in the Nairobi slum of Mathare
escalated after local brewers asked another gang to intervene against the Mungiki when they increased their "tax" on the drink.
Illegally brewed changaa could be purchased for around US$0.15 to $0.25 per glass. The alcoholic content is sometimes increased by adding substances like jet fuel
, embalming fluid or battery acid, which has the effect of giving the beverage more 'kick'. Drinkers have suffered blindness or death due to methanol
poisoning. In Nairobi slums like Korogocho
, the water used to make the drink is often contaminated with feces
, and women's underwear along with decomposing dead rats have been found in the drink during police raids.
The Kenyan government legalised the traditional home-brewed spirit in 2010, in an effort to take business away from establishments where toxic chemicals are added to the brew to make it stronger. Under the new law, changaa must be manufactured, distributed and sold in glass bottles, and retailers must display health warning signs. Sale to individuals under age 18 is still prohibited, as is sale through automatic vending machines. Anyone making or selling adulterated changaa risks penalties of five million shillings, five years in jail, or both.
Kenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
. Distilled from grains like millet
Millet
The millets are a group of small-seeded species of cereal crops or grains, widely grown around the world for food and fodder. They do not form a taxonomic group, but rather a functional or agronomic one. Their essential similarities are that they are small-seeded grasses grown in difficult...
, maize
Maize
Maize known in many English-speaking countries as corn or mielie/mealie, is a grain domesticated by indigenous peoples in Mesoamerica in prehistoric times. The leafy stalk produces ears which contain seeds called kernels. Though technically a grain, maize kernels are used in cooking as a vegetable...
and sorghum
Sorghum
Sorghum is a genus of numerous species of grasses, one of which is raised for grain and many of which are used as fodder plants either cultivated or as part of pasture. The plants are cultivated in warmer climates worldwide. Species are native to tropical and subtropical regions of all continents...
, it is very potent. Its production and distribution is controlled in many cases by criminal gangs like the Mungiki
Mungiki
Mungiki is a politico-religious group and a banned criminal organization in Kenya. The name means "A united people" or "multitude" in the Kikuyu language. The religion, which apparently originated in the late 1980s, is secretive and bears some similarity to mystery religions. Specifics of their...
. Gang violence in the Nairobi slum of Mathare
Mathare
Mathare is a collection of slums in Nairobi, Kenya with a population of approximately 500,000 people; the population of Mathare Valley alone, the oldest of the slums that make up Mathare, is 180,000 people...
escalated after local brewers asked another gang to intervene against the Mungiki when they increased their "tax" on the drink.
Illegally brewed changaa could be purchased for around US$0.15 to $0.25 per glass. The alcoholic content is sometimes increased by adding substances like jet fuel
Jet fuel
Jet fuel is a type of aviation fuel designed for use in aircraft powered by gas-turbine engines. It is clear to straw-colored in appearance. The most commonly used fuels for commercial aviation are Jet A and Jet A-1 which are produced to a standardized international specification...
, embalming fluid or battery acid, which has the effect of giving the beverage more 'kick'. Drinkers have suffered blindness or death due to methanol
Methanol
Methanol, also known as methyl alcohol, wood alcohol, wood naphtha or wood spirits, is a chemical with the formula CH3OH . It is the simplest alcohol, and is a light, volatile, colorless, flammable liquid with a distinctive odor very similar to, but slightly sweeter than, ethanol...
poisoning. In Nairobi slums like Korogocho
Korogocho
Korogocho is one of the largest slum neighbourhoods of Nairobi, Kenya. Home to 150,000 to 200,000 people pressed into a 1.5 square kilometres, northeast of the city centre, Korogocho was founded as a shanty town on the then outskirts of the city. In 2009 it was estimated to be the fourth largest...
, the water used to make the drink is often contaminated with feces
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
, and women's underwear along with decomposing dead rats have been found in the drink during police raids.
The Kenyan government legalised the traditional home-brewed spirit in 2010, in an effort to take business away from establishments where toxic chemicals are added to the brew to make it stronger. Under the new law, changaa must be manufactured, distributed and sold in glass bottles, and retailers must display health warning signs. Sale to individuals under age 18 is still prohibited, as is sale through automatic vending machines. Anyone making or selling adulterated changaa risks penalties of five million shillings, five years in jail, or both.