Chief Mwase Concerned With High Intake Of Kachasu

Senior Chief Mwase of the Tumbuka people in Lundazi district in Eastern province has bemoaned the high intake of a local brew commonly known as Kachasu amongst his subjects in the chiefdom.

In an interview with ZANIS, Senior Chief Mwase said Kachasu is highly potent and causing wide-spread poverty in Mwase Chiefdom as people choose to take the alcoholic drink at the expense of engaging in productive activities.

The Chief said there is need to take punitive measures to deter people from brewing such type of alcohol to deter them from being unproductive due to drunkenness.

He disclosed that some villagers were also secretly producing the local brew and also buying some from other chiefdoms within the district.

“I have banned the brewing of kachasu in my chiefdom. However, the commodity is still being accessed from the neighbouring country during the trading time called Bwandila when Zambians and Malawians meet every Thursday to trade at a border town in Malawi,” he lamented.

He expressed concern that both men and women were in the habit of drinking beer as early as 06:00hrs and have no time to engage in productive activities such as farming and trading.

The traditional leader said Kachasu drinking had also resulted in parents not taking their children to school as they prioritise spending their little earnings on beer.

He said the selling of Kachasu was even happening within a named school grounds in his chiefdom, leading to mushrooming of brothels at Kachasu trading sites.

The chief has since called on security wings to come in and help control the situation as his efforts to fine offenders had drawn a blank.

The traditional leader observed that development would only come to his chiefdom if people stopped abusing alcohol and engaged in productive activities.