chang’aa is a traditional distilled spirit from Kenya made from a base of fermented millet, maize, or sorghum that is generally pot-distilled in improvised equipment made out of oil drums. Potent and clear in color, chang’aa is similar to American moonshine and has a similarly illicit and often sordid past: indeed, chang’aa is Swahili for “kill me quickly.” It is also known as “poison brew,” a name earned by the frequency with which it is contaminated with methanol and, at least according to rumor, everything from jet fuel to embalming fluid. Until 2010, when the 1980 Chang’aa Prohibition Act was repealed, the moonshine was banned and sold illegally on the black market. Since legalization, it’s been subject to a spate of safety and production regulations, although plenty of illegal chang’aa continues to be produced. See
Aarhus, Paige. “Really Strange Brew.” Vice, October 30, 2011. https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/bnyzwz/really-strange-brew-0000009-v18n10 (accessed February 23, 2021).
Hibbert, Celeste. “In Pictures: Kenya’s Deadly Drink.” Al Jazeera, February 27, 2013. https://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/inpictures/2013/02/201322783655966424.html (accessed February 23, 2021).
By: Anna Archibald