Methanol poisoning has been identified as the cause of death of seven Masiphumelele men who died last month after drinking home-brewed alcohol, according to the Western Cape Department of Health.
South Africans have been experimenting with home-brewed beer since the start of the Covid-19 national lockdown on March 27, which banned the sale of alcohol. The ban has since been lifted.
The Zimbabweans Burial Society in Masiphumelele has repatriated three of the dead men, who were Zimbabwean, to be buried in their hometowns. Its secretary,
Nicodimus Guni, said the families of
Tapera Edward Kuseni, Terrence Siyanda, both from Chipinge, and Maxwell Chikanhi, from Murehwa, have been told what killed them.
He thanked community and society members who raised money to repatriate the remains.
The Zimbabwean community was still in shock after the incident, he said, and the society’s thoughts were with the families left behind.
“It is difficult to accept, but we take solace that the trio is now in a better place where there is no pain nor sorrow and where
their souls can rest in eternal peace. A
human journey is characterised by two major events, birth and death.
“At birth we all gather to celebrate a new life and at death we again gather to mourn the loss of our beloved ones,” he said.
At the time of going to print, the Echo could not reach
Pastor Paul Lafukani, of the Malawi Assemblies of God in
Masiphumelele, for an update on the remains of the Malawian
men.
