Waragi
Waragi (pronounced
History
The history of waragi in Uganda can be traced to the period of
After Ugandan independence in 1962, the
Waragi derives its name from "war gin", as the
The colonial authorities of Uganda banned the drink and the laws still exist. Locals at the time would not drink it publicly because drinks that were less harmful to them were also off limits then.
In 1965, "The Enguli Act" decreed that distillation would only be possible under licence and that distillers should sell their product to the government run
People in Uganda now drink the harsh gin and authorities largely ignore the law. It is sold in shops and bars across Uganda and a distilled version is sold overseas. The product that is sold overseas is double and sometimes triple distilled from the alcohol that village distillers make for the factories in Uganda. When it is distilled, flavours are added and many impurities and dangerous parts of the alcohol are filtered out.[4]
Health concerns
In April 2010, 80 people died from multiple organ dysfunction syndrome after drinking waragi adulterated with a high amount of methanol over a three-week period in Kabale District.[8][9][10] Many of the deaths were blamed on the reluctance of people to openly admit their relatives had been drinking it, allowing the abuse of the substance to continue.[9][10] When revelations came about houses were searched, with around 120 jerrycans uncovered.[10]
The death toll of 80 was arrived at after 15 people died in the period between April 23 and the weekend before.[11] Deaths in Kamwenge went from five to nine after four people died on 21 April.[11] Two people were hospitalised at Kamwenge's Ntara Health Centre IV and five were hospitalised at Mbarara Regional Referral Hospital.[11]
BBC correspondent Joshua Mmali described it as "the largest number killed at one time for several years."[10]
Process
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Vice devoted an episode of their web series Fringes to the process of making and distributing Waragi. The episode also covered the cultural significance of Waragi in Uganda, with reporter Thomas Morton imbibing various distillations of the traditional beverage.[12] Waragi can be made from bananas.[13]
Variants
The base of waragi distillate can be made from either
See also
- Changaa (in Kenya)
References
- ^ WHO Global Status Report on Alcohol 2004 Archived February 6, 2013, at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "Visualizations:Alcohol Consumption Worldwide". Archived from the original on 2010-11-27. Retrieved 2011-11-03.
- ^ "GHO | By category | Alcohol - Data by country". WHO. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
- ^ a b "Uganda drinks in Africa". 21 October 2016.
- ^ "Uganda Waragi" (PDF). Uganda Waragi. The spirit that binds us.
- ^ "Uganda on a Plate".
- ^ A Study on Sentencing and Offences Legislation in Uganda Archived March 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine, The Justice Law and Order Sector (JLOS)
- ^ "Gin kills 80 people in Uganda". Herald Sun. 25 April 2010. Retrieved 25 April 2010.
- ^ a b "80 people die of methanol-laced gin in Uganda". The Gazette (Montreal). 23 April 2010. Archived from the original on 27 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ a b c d "Illegal banana gin 'kills 80' in Uganda". BBC. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ a b c "Waragi Death Toll Rises to 80 in Kabale". TMC. 23 April 2010. Retrieved 23 April 2010.
- ^ Morton, Thomas. "War Gin: Fringes". Video. VICE.com. Retrieved 9 November 2012.
- ^ "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2012-04-06. Retrieved 2011-11-09.
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