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Kinyarwanda
Three people were arrested Wednesday in Kirehe District, Gahara Sector distilling and selling illicit brew called Ibiseyeye. The trio was caught with 700 litres of Ibiseyeye.
Ibiseyeye is made out of mixed pakamaya (industrial fertilizers), cassava flour, aloe-vera locally known as Igikakarubamba, tetradenia (Umuravumba) and Vernonia amygdalina also known locally as umubirizi.
According to Chief Inspector of Police (CIP) Hamdun Twizeyimana, the Police spokesperson of the Eastern region, the suspects were arrested separately in Susuruka and Rubira villages of Nyakagezi Cell in Gahara Sector, after local residents reported their unlawful acts to Police and local leaders.
“One of the suspects, Vedaste Kaberuka was caught with 200 litres, Antoine Nkundimana with 100 litres and Valentine Mukandebe with 400 litres,” CIP Twizeyimana said.
He warned residents against distilling and selling psychotropic substances and advised them to go through legal procedures to produce harmless substances.
“Such illicit brew is dangerous for human consumption,” he said.
The Rwanda Standard Board (RSB) specifies that “only food-grade processing aids recognized as safe for human consumption shall be used during the manufacture.”
Other standard requirements include labeling (name of the products, physical and postal address of manufacturer); net contents in milliliters or liters; ethyl alcohol content; date of manufacture and expiry date; storage instruction; statutory warnings; and list of ingredients in descending order.
