Kenya Breweries is under investigation for fraud and police have been forced to disperse crowds of angry "winners" with teargas after 2,000 people all found the same top winning number in a beer promotion lottery on bottle-tops. The alleged mass fluke would have cost the company KES 40m (USD 530,000) in extra costs, why the lottery had to be called of eight days early, the Kenyan Daily Nation reports.

The number, 5774, which would have given the top prize of 20,000 KES, has been withdrawn from the lottery altogether, while the matter is being investigated by the brewery and the authorities, already suspecting fraud. All other winners, however, get to keep their prizes. Source: globalbrewer.com.

29 April, 2003