Boy, 11, dies after partaking in drinking contest

 The boy died after drinking Kachasu, an unlicensed traditional distilled beer which was even used as hand sanitiser. Photo: Newsflash.

An 11-year-old boy died after he downed bottles of beer during an under-14s drinking contest. The child, described as a "keen drinker", reportedly drunk five bottles of Kachashu, an unlicensed traditional distilled beer which was even used as a hand sanitizer by locals. But he "dropped dead" as shocked onlookers watched the competition in the town of Mzimba, in the northern Malawi district of the same name. Friends of the unnamed boy claimed he collapsed in the finals of the drinking contest, Daily Star reports. The beer-drinking contest had a prize of MWK 20,000 MWK (Sh2,800).

The competition was reportedly organised in three categories, under-14, under-21 and seniors. According to the national newspaper Daily Voice, bystander Emmanuel Chirwa even expressed suspicions of foul play because the boy who died was the defending champion. Chirwa said: “He was not just an amateur boozer.”

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According to Chirwa, contestants pay 1000 MWK (Sh143) to enter the competition and the only rule is that they must eat something beforehand. Chirwa added: “So, he did not die because he did not eat before beginning the contest. They all ate before the contest. Something went wrong.”

Local child protection officer Shanks Nkhata reportedly said he is following up on the issue and would appeal to the local chiefs to try and ban the brewing of the illicit beer. Nkhata said: “We hear the child was in Standard 7 at Kafulufulu Primary and with schools on a Corona (Covid-19) break, he turned into an avid drunkard.”

 A man nearly lost his life in an online drinking challenge. Photo: Newsflash.

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During the Covid-19 pandemic, a man also nearly lost his life during an online drinking challenge called ‘Confinement Challenge Apero’ after downing 1.5 litres of booze and falling into a coma. The man was admitted to the intensive care unit of the Marie Curie University Hospital in Charleroi, a city in the western Belgian province of Hainaut.