Two men die after drinking traditional concoction for cleaning stomach

WHAT started as a stomach cleaning therapy using a traditional concoction ended in tragedy when two elderly men from the same family died soon after taking the mixture.
The incident happened in Lushongwe area of Gwanda District.
The two, Amos Dube and Elliot Dube died on Monday after drinking a boiled mixture of aloe (inhlaba) with the intention of cleaning their stomachs.
However, the two men's ages were not immediately available.
Narrating the story yesterday, Mr Brown Ngwenya (33), a relative of the two men, who witnessed the incident, said he was lucky to be alive as he was also in the queue to take the concoction.
He said his grandfather, Amos and his cousin, Elliot, drank the boiled aloe after which they immediately felt  weak and died hardly 30 minutes after consuming the muthi.
"Elliot is the one who went to the bush to collect the herb, came home and boiled it. He drank the muthi before giving it to other family members to drink. I also intended to drink the mixture because I wanted to get my stomach cleaned," said Mr Ngwenya.
He said among the people who drank the concoction was his grandmother, Coleen Dube, Amos' wife, as she was also given the same "therapy" but was lucky in that she was the last to drink the mixture.
Mr Ngwenya said after realising the effects the mixture had on those who drank it, Gogo MaDube was quickly given milk to neutralise the "poisonous medicine" but it was too late for the two men.
"We decided to use fresh milk after we discovered that the concoction was poisonous and hence the need to neutralise it. We gave Gogo MaDube the milk but unfortunately the milk could not help the other two since they could not swallow it and we realised that they were already dead," he said.
Gogo MaDube, who was also physically weak, was rushed to Lushongwe Clinic and then referred to Gwanda Provincial Hospital where she was admitted for a night.She was discharged yesterday.
When Chronicle visited Gogo MaDube at the hospital yesterday, she was in a devastated state but a relative said she had requested that a beast be sold to raise money to cover funeral expenses.
Ward 9 Councillor Mozitha Moyo said the incident was unfortunate.
He said he had visited Gogo MaDube at the hospital and doctors said she was fit to return home as her condition had stabilised.
"The doctors said Gogo MaDube was no longer in danger and we thank God that she is alive. This is a sad story but what I can say is that people should only consult doctors and registered traditional healers on medicines to take so that we can avoid such fatal calamities," said Clr Moyo.
He said the doctors said the substance could only be poisonous if an overdose was taken.
The matter was reported to the police.