The Main Gate of Nile Breweries Ltd in Buikwe District. It has been sued over sale of adulterated beer. PHOTO | TAUSI NAKATO
A beer consumer in Jinja City has taken the management of Nile Breweries Ltd to court alleging that they sold an adulterated bottled alcoholic drink to him, thus seeking a thumping Shs80m in compensation.
The Buikwe District-based brewery produces beers such as Nile Special, Nile Special Stout, Club Pilsner, Eagle Lager, Eagle Extra, Eagle Dark, and Castle Lite, among other alcoholic beverages.
In his suit filed at Jinja High Court in August 2024, Mr Raphael Norvic Sseruyange, a resident of Jinja South City Division, contends that on November 10, 2023, he bought four bottles of Nile Special from one of the bars in Jinja City, but two were contaminated with “foreign objects”.
Mr Sseruyange said he gave a colleague two beers and remained with two; but halfway into his first beer, he saw a foreign object in his unopened bottle.
Mr Sseruyange says he approached the bar owner with the unopened beer to ascertain whether she knew that the bottle contained foreign substance before selling it to him, to which she reportedly was her first time witnessing such an anomaly.
In the suit, Mr Sseruyange asserts that he experienced discomfort in his stomach, prompting him to take a closer look at the beer he had consumed halfway, and saw “two small particles of sweet Pepsi polythene paper”.
Mr Sseruyange, in his suit, says upon reaching home, he started vomiting and experiencing severe diarrhoea, before being rushed to hospital in an attempt to save his life. He would later be diagnosed with gastro-enteritis, according to a document from Ronz Medical Centre in Jinja City.
After getting treatment, Mr Sseruyange says he organised a party to celebrate his recovery, at which a crate of Nile Special was bought, but six bottles allegedly had “what looked like a larva stage of an insect or maggot”.
Furthermore, he says five other bottles were half empty, one contained beer that looked to be stale, fueling fear that the party-goers may have ingested contaminated beer.
“The negligence of the defendant is a serious threat to the consumers in Uganda and to all other countries to which they export their products and to him in particular,” the suit further reads.
According to Mr Sseruyange, his right to life was threatened when he consumed the contaminated beer manufactured by the defendant, making him uncertain of his life expectancy.
He, therefore, seeks punitive damages of Shs19m and also wants the court to compel the defendant to pay him Shs80m in general damages.
Defence
However, Nile Breweries Limited, through its lawyers of Okalang and Law Chambers and Legal Consultants, denied the allegations, saying: “The complainant targets getting money from the company”.
“Mr Sseruyange’s suit is speculative and is intended to falsely extort money from the defendant (Nile Breweries Ltd) and therefore frivolous,” the defence filed on September 2, 2024, reads in part.
The defendant further contends that Kisansa bar is not a licensed bar and even the alleged receipt issued is illegal and intended for falsification of evidence and that the alleged existence of a foreign body described as “Sweet Pepsi Polythene” is a total fabrication by Mr Sseruyange.
According to the defence, it is explained that the second bottle was not fully sealed as per factory standard, and had been tempered with by the complainant.
The defendant (Nile Breweries Ltd) further refutes the alleged existence of anomalies as foreign particles which looked like a larva stage of an insect (maggot).
And that beer production and the bottling process go through monitored and specialised stages intended to eliminate any tiniest foreign particles resulting in the production of high-quality beer, fit for human use in accordance with Uganda National Bureau of Standards and International standards.
In response to allegations of gastroenteritis reportedly suffered by Mr Sseruyange arising from the consumption of their products, Nile Breweries says “he was suffering from other illnesses”.
Nile Breweries wants the court to dismiss the suit with costs, saying it lacks a cause of action against it.
The Nile Breweries Limited Sustainability Expert and Corporate Affairs Manager, Ms Clare Asiimwe, said the matter is being handled by the company lawyers.
