Jet fuel has become a major component in a local illicit brew drunk by many urban poor in Nairobi, a local newspaper reported Thursday.
The Daily Nation newspaper quoted a brewer and seller of the illegal changaa liquor in a Nairobi slum, saying airport workers sell jet fuel to a well established net of customers who sell it on to brewers in the city.
The brewer said jet fuel is used to make the drink stronger — and it is also much cheaper than traditional ingredients, making the profits higher.
The newspaper reports said brewers also use formalin, a chemical used to preserve bodies, to shorten the brewing period.
”We don’t have the time to go through long processes of preparation [of the original changaa brew]. The drunkards are readily available with money, and all they need is something to make them high,” said Mama Pima, the slum brewer.
The traditional changaa is made of maize flour, sorghum yeast and different types of sugar, but takes 20 days to make. – Sapa-DPA