Homebrews And Backyard Ale, Booze Prove Hard To Quit

Pini Bothoko | Monday May 11, 2020 16:29

 

Homebrews And Backyard Ale, Booze Prove Hard To Quit

The police have expressed concern over the illegal sale of alcohol with home brewed beers being the most popular source of intoxication during the lockdown. Ever since the beginning of the lockdown the police have been battling to curb the illegal sale of alcohol.

Alcohol drinkers have been flouting lockdown rules to buy booze with some opting for home brewed beer. A few hours before lockdown it was an alcohol rush as people flocked to retail and bottle stores to stock up on booze, something that in a way demonstrated drinkers’ devotion to alcohol.

Police said ever since the beginning of the national lockdown home brewed beer has gained popularity amongst residents. A majority of people have been arrested and charged for operating illegal shebeens selling traditional beer in their homesteads.

Drinkers have been displaying their devotion to alcohol across social media platforms, sharing homemade beer recipes as the booze ban bites. 

Some were seen sharing their final product describing how they managed to get tipsy after drinking such home made beer.

Botswana Police Service’s spokesperson, Near Bagali said from April 2 to May 8, a total of 1,122 people were arrested and charged for illegal brewing and selling of traditional beer.

He said out of the number, 514 were arrested in the North Central division, followed by 364 in Southern division, 154 in the Nothern division and 89 in South Central division.  The shebeen operators were charged on admission of guilt and fined between P1,000 to P5,000.  Bagali told The Monitor that the ban on alcohol sales has resulted in a majority of people countrywide resorting to home brews just to get around the prohibition and beat the blues.

He said crime in general has significantly declined adding that the only offence that still keeps the police on their toes is the fight against illegal sale of alcohol.

Bagali said ever since the national lockdown there has been a mushrooming of shebeens countrywide, something that was behind people’s irregular movement during the lockdown despite the regulations in place.  “We have charged numerous people for unlawful movement during lockdown. When investigating what could be behind people’s movement we discovered the illegal sale of alcohol in homesteads,” Bagali said. He said some people were charged for operating bars during lockdown at prohibited places. He further stated that not only operators were charged as drinkers were also charged and fined for buying alcohol during lockdown.

“When conducting investigations we discovered that the sale of traditional brews was behind the people’s movements. From the same duration, a total of 9,972 people were arrested and fined for unlawful movement without a permit during lockdown. 3,270 were fined in South division followed by 2,603 people in Northern division, 2,097 in North Central division and 1,312 in South Central division,” Bagali said.

Meanwhile, police disclosed that drug use is on the rise during lockdown with a total of 121 cases registered countrywide in April as compared to 88 cases in March.