HIV+ Man Kills Himself with Alcohol

By:Thula Chisamba

A 35 year old Henry Mwale has died in Nkhata bay district over what medics say was the result of drinking too much liquor on an empty stomach, The Malawi Star has learnt.

Information gathered by our reporter shows that on this fateful day, the deceased was seen drinking at a drinking joint within Mpamba trading center in the district.

After getting intoxicated, he was seen laying  down in a certain disused refuge where he unfortunately died.

Information shows that the man betrothed himself in undue beer drinking routine after he was diagnosed HIV positive a year ago.

His close allies confirmed the story to The Malawi Star that before his death, the man announced that being HIV positive was shameful and that he just wanted to forget about the same by turning into an avid imbiber.

“Every hour, we used to see him at Mpamba trading center drinking alcohol. However, before being the diagnosis, he was not such a drunkard,” said his cousin, James Banda.

Though he was such a drunkard, he never forgot going back to his house but on this day his relatives were astonished to learn that he never returned home.

After searching for him for some time, his friends who saw him told his relatives that he was seen sleeping in a certain disused shelter just a few meters from the drinking point.

“We found him out of breath thus we sent others to report the matter to Police who came together with some medics,” said his brother, Leonard Mwase.

Memory Mussah, a counselling expert at Banja La Mtsogolo in Blantyre said that coping mechanisms are different. But the first and foremost is the ability to accept the diagnosis.  Living in denial will only result in these kinds of tragedies.

“Among other things, alcohol is not the solution and it is advised that once diagnosed as being HIV+ one should refrain from drinking alcohol or smoking,” Said the expert.

Nkhata bay Police publicist Sergeant Ignatius Esau who confirmed the development advised avoiding drunkards to be eating first before engaging themselves in boozing enjoyment.

Postmortem results have shown that he died due to dehydration and starvation.