Race for booze leaves man dead in Agago

Agago, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | One person has died in Agago district as a result of participating in a bizarre race for alcohol competition in which the winner was to get two litres of a local potent gin.

The Kuywee sub county LC III chairman, Moses Ben Ocan has confirmed the incident that occurred on Thursday at Lamit P7 school playground, and identified the deceased as Francis Ocan Odab, a resident of Pagoo village in Lamit parish.

It’s reported that a local business man identified as Bosco Ocan, organized the event as a bizarre sort of giving back for revelers of his bar who were to take part in the race where the victor would be rewarded with local potent gin locally referred to as Guu.

According to Ocan, the winner of the race would get two litres of the local potent gin while the first and second runner up would be consoled with one litre each. Ocan says the participants who had been drinking in the organizers bar then embarked on the competition. At the climax of the race as he reached the finishing line, the deceased collapsed and was later pronounced dead.

Upon receipt of the pronouncement of the death, Ocan, the organizer of the event first went into hiding but later handed himself over to authorities at Kalongo central police station.

The incident has caused tensions between the two clans of Kalorii to which the deceased belonged and that of the Kabaalelel from which the event organizer hails. The latter were accused of the death of the former’s son.

Dorine Oyella, the LC V councilor for Kuywee sub county says the situation has returned to normal after the intervention of the local cultural chiefs who are now mediating negotiations between the two clans to avert possibilities of an impending inter clan clash over the incident.

Oyella condemned the incident saying tendencies of idleness and unproductivity amidst men in particular during the current lockdown has led to a rise in abuse of alcohol.

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