Kenya: Kill Me Quick

Among Nairobi’s Africans, who judge an alcoholic beverage not by its taste but its kick, the most popular brew for the past 13 years has been a potion known as KMQ (Kill Me Quick), a throat-burning mixture of surgical spirits and methyl alcohol. Invented by a burly Luo tribesman named Akumu Onyiego, KMQ was precisely named: less than two pints of the stuff is a lethal dose.

The Kenya Legislative Council banned the sale of KMQ. But despite the threat of stiff fines, Akumu kept brewing, and despite the scores of stiffs found, Nairobi kept drinking. Akumu got to be a wealthy man. He acquired five wives, a flashy Opel sedan, three rambling houses.

Last week, in celebration of his great fortune, Akumu threw a little blast for 40 friends. He broke out the best in the house—a brand-new keg of uncut methyl alcohol, a volatile liquid most often used for boosting aircraft takeoffs. When the party was over, ten of the revelers were permanently blinded. Eight others, including Akumu Onyiego, were dead.