Online Reporter
The Herald, 19 February 1990
MORE than 260 litres of tototo were seized by Esigodini police during a crackdown on brewers at Bezhe and Kumbudzi communal lands last week.
The Officer-in-Charge, Inspector Ciphas Chikwava, said 27 distillers were arrested during the raid and were scheduled to appear in court. Inspector Chikwava said the raid also yielded several drums and 15 stills used in brewing the illicit liquor.
The value of the brew was not immediately available, and the haul was smaller compared to the previous raids.
However, he said investigations were continuing as the police believed the practice was still wide- spread, particularly in Bezhe and Kumbudzi areas where the majority of the brewers were arrested.
He said the illicit concoction made from brown sugar, millet, grain waste, fertiliser and thereafter mixed with water was ferried to Bulawayo by pirate taxis operating regularly.
The couriers, he said, used different routes when they entered the city in order to evade police road blocks on the major roads.
Lessons for today:
The excerpt about Esigodini police cracking down on illicit brewers in 1990 gives insight into law enforcement efforts, community dynamics, and the underground alcohol economy even up to this day.
Police seized over 260 litres of tototo (illicit brew), arrested 27 distillers, and confiscated several drums and 15 stills. This shows that illegal brewing was not marginal it was a large-scale and organised activity in Bezhe and Kumbudzi communal lands. This is also happening today with drugs taking the centre stage. This suggests a long-term struggle between community brewers and authorities.
The Alcohol was dangerous and improvised. The ingredients included brown sugar, millet grain waste, fertiliser and water. This indicates significant health risks, as unsafe chemical additives were being used.
The scale of brewing, equipment used (drums, stills), and organised distribution show a profit-driven enterprise, a community responding to economic hardship by engaging in alternative income streams.
