Tragic end to Zed drinking competition

A BOOZING competition in which three participants battled it out drinking illegal Mozambican brewed whisky ended tragically on Sunday after one of them died due to excessive intoxication.

Reuben Mafusire, a Mutare City Council employee who resides in Dangamvura's Area 15 died upon admission at Mutare Provincial Hospital where he had been rushed for resuscitation.

The other competitor, Thomas Makina, is lucky to be alive after he was quickly attended to and has since been discharged from the hospital.

The third challenger only identified as Leo failed to go the distance after he reportedly vomited during the competition.

The death of Mafusire has become the talk of the neighbourhood where illegal Mozambican brews like Zed and Royal whiskies are sold at business centres in broad daylight.

In an interview on Tuesday, a frail looking Makina who watched helplessly as his friend breathed his last at the hospital chronicled the drama of the events leading to Mafusire's death.

An avid imbiber of the illegal Mozambican brews, Makina said it all started as a merrymaking adventure which turned nasty as time lapsed.

"A guy called Stavo came from nowhere and bought several Royal Whisky bottles and pledged that the person who drinks most will be rewarded with $6 and three quarts of beer. I entered into the drinking competition as well as Mafusire and Leo.

"The whisky was diluted with water and we started drinking. Leo did not go far because he vomited and I was left with Mafusire. In no time Mafusire's spirits got high and he started dancing and acting wildly. He later passed out. At first people thought that he was just drunk and they left him lying on the floor.

"However, people panicked when blood and froth started coming out of his noise, mouth and ears. He was unconscious. People sought for help and they hurried to a nearby AFM parish and got help from the pastor who came with his vehicle and rushed him to Mutare Provincial Hospital. I don't know what happened next because I then passed out as well," he said.

According to what his friends later told him when he was discharged from hospital, Makina said soon after Mafusire was rushed to the hospital by the pastor he also fainted and Stavo quickly raised an ambulance.

"The ambulance came and I was rushed to the hospital and was given a bed adjacent to Mafusire's. When I was admitted, Mafusire was still alive although we did not talk to each other because we were in great pain. The de-intoxication process was painful. The doctors inserted some pipes into my private parts whose purpose I am still to comprehend.

"At around 10pm on Sunday, a male nurse came to my bed and asked me to bid farewell to Mafusire who was now dying. He died moments later. I was then discharged the following morning after my condition improved," he said.

Makina said he was lucky to be alive because he had eaten sadza before the competition.

"If I had entered the competition on an empty stomach I will be history now. I will never drink those illegal brews again because a thin line separated me from the heavens. I endured a lot of pain and will not repeat it again," he said.

A woman, End Nyakutombwa, who was part of the crowd that cheered on as the competition progressed, said Makina passed out all of a sudden.

"He was dancing, but he just passed out. We thought it was normal since he was drinking heavily, but people panicked after blood oozed out of his nose and mouth," she said.

Mafusire's friend, Forward Mbavha, said he was not present during the drinking competition, but arrived at the scene only to see his buddy lying motionless on the floor.

"I ran around looking for help and ended up at the AFM Church. The pastor offered his vehicle and ferried Mafusire to the hospital. It pains that my friend died this painful death. Zed is killing people and those selling it should be arrested," he said.

The deceased's cousin brother, Batsirai Katsande, said Mafusire was the breadwinner and his family was now vulnerable.

"These illegal brews are taking lives and people should desist from drinking them. You don't need to be told to shun them because the writing is on the wall," he said.

When the news crew visited the funeral, friends, neighbours and relatives were at loss of words to explain the death of their beloved one.

A mourner who requested anonymity said before Mafusire went to the bar where he joined the drinking competition, he had jogged for a distance in the morning saying he wanted to keep his body in shape.

"He was also scheduled to go to church together with his wife and family, but disappeared and opted to booze. It is tragic and we are failing to explain it. What has become of this world," she said.