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Zimbabwe clamps down on ‘backyard brewers’ as fake booze booms

Zimbabwe clamps down on ‘backyard brewers’ as fake booze booms

NYASHA CHINGONO INSIDE a grimy, poorly lit room in Mbare, one of Zimbabwe's most populous townships, a 45-year-old man sits on a makeshift stool as he pours a brownish liquid into small bottles. An alcoholic stench fills the room. The Mbare resident is one of Zimbabwe's "backyard brewers" who are making fake whiskies, brandy, vodka and other spirits to make ends meet amid fading hopes for economic prosperity. "My life changed when I got into this business," said the brewer, a former heavy machinery mechanic who did not want to be identified by name. "I left the (mechanics) industry because…
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