The Hidden World of Changaa: Illegal Brewing in East Africa

The first time I met “Mamma,” she was serving her potent homemade brew to a dozen eager buyers. Her changaa, aptly named “kill me quickly,” is the most popular drink in the village, competing with over twenty other brewers in a small roadside community in western Kenya with a population of no more than 5,000.

Local villagers know exactly where to find her brew “hive” and others in the area. However, from the busy road connecting Kenya’s second-largest city to Uganda, the village appears unremarkable, and uncovering these illegal brewing “hives” requires digging deeper and walking farther.

Despite its illegality and significant health risks, the underground world of illegal brewing in East Africa is rapidly expanding. Deaths and blindness from changaa contaminated with methanol or other chemicals are alarmingly common. The government seems determined to reduce fatalities by bringing backyard brewers into the open.

A bill passed by Kenya's parliament legalized and sought to regulate changaa production, mandating that the drink be commercially bottled and sold at licensed premises. Critics argue that this legislation is unlikely to impact traditional distillers; the women tending the clay stills have no intention of giving up their trade. This includes “Mamma,” who has been arrested 11 times for selling her homemade brew. Despite this, she takes pride in her product, owns her arrests, and boasts of her “superior” changaa.

Over the course of four years, I visited “Mamma” multiple times. Initially, she was proud and defiant. Later, she was absent, arrested once again. When I saw her next, she was humbled and living a quieter life, no longer involved in the black market, but instead picking corn for a neighbor.

Kenyan breweries have urged the government to reduce alcohol taxes to allow beer to compete with changaa. However, even with lower taxes, competition remains difficult: a glass of changaa costs only 50 cents, half the price of beer, and its potency makes it a favorite among drinkers. The affordability and strength of changaa make it a preferred choice for many, despite the known dangers.

The persistence of changaa consumption, despite widespread awareness of its deadly consequences, can be attributed to a pervasive sense of hopelessness among residents, who often prioritize immediate intoxication over long-term health. This issue is vast and largely hidden from the average East African, primarily affecting rural villages where unemployment is extremely high. Discovering these brew-houses and drinking dens took me years of investigation.

This problem is both hidden and yet occurring in plain sight. It’s present in everyday places—your taxi driver, the cell phone kiosk, the grocery store. The closer you look, the more omnipresent the drunkenness becomes.

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