Reformed addicts team up to fight drug, alcohol abuse
By KNA, March 6, 2024Towards the end of 2016, Administration Police Officer Stephen Muturi Hinga started experiencing agonising headaches which he initially thought were driven by the change of environment as he had just been transferred from Marsabit to Nakuru County.
Though he visited the Nakuru Level 5 Teaching and Referral Hospital and was put on medication, the throbbing headaches persisted for several months.
Things came to a head on the morning of December 27, 2016, when constable Hinga who had been assigned duties at the Bahati police camp’s motor vehicle workshop unexpectedly lost his eyesight. He was referred to Kikuyu Hospital for a CT scan. The scan showed that he had a brain tumour, marking the beginning of a life full of anxiety, tribulation, and hopelessness.
Hinga was later flown to India where the tumour was removed but he never regained his sight. The police officer boldly confesses that doctors in Kenya and India traced his condition to a marijuana smoking habit that he had picked while in primary school at the age of 11 years.
“Though marijuana has been variously touted as a herb with medicinal values, new studies including the one conducted by the University of California’s School of Medicine have suggested that using the narcotic drug can accelerate the development of certain types of cancers,” explains the cop.
Hinga states that his doctors informed him that Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the main ingredient that causes euphoria and changed behaviour in bhang users can speed up the growth of head and neck tumours.
The policeman however counts himself lucky for getting a second lease on life after he was enrolled in rehabilitation and training at the Kenya Society for the Blind by the National Police Service which he says helped him overcome the denial stage and accept his new situation but admits that adjusting to the new reality was difficult.
The father of three says his new condition ushered in a new chapter in life- that of campaigning against drug and substance abuse among the youth.
Seated next to Hinga is 50-year-old Joseph Kimondo Kimani who is equally blind.
When he visited an illicit brew den at Kabatini village three years ago in the company of a friend, Kimani had no inkling the worst would befall him.
Kimani says that he and his friend ordered their ‘favourite brand’ and enjoyed it as they chatted away the evening.
After he had enough, he started experiencing an excruciating headache and stomach pains and hastily left for his home. On arrival, he retired to bed and when he woke up in the morning, he realised he had a blurred vision.
His neighbours rushed him to Bahati Health Centre where he was immediately put on drip because he was dehydrated from a running stomach. That is how he survived but he eventually completely lost his sight before being discharged from the health facility.
Kimani is lucky to be alive as most of his friends who patronised the den that day died at their respective homes. He is now an avowed crusader against alcohol consumption in the Sub-County.
In the same room, Allan Wachira, 44, a recovering alcoholic, opens up about his long and windy journey to hell and back for the sake of every person battling the shackles of alcoholism.
Wachira’s relationship with alcohol started in his teenage years. It brought untold pleasure, excitement, and relief at first. Little did he know that he had started on a path that would lead to over two decades of alcoholism.
The Jacaranda Primary School teacher reveals that he stepped into a relationship, which he thought was promising and would end up in marriage. He was 25. However, the relationship could not be sustained due to thirst for alcohol. They broke up and this affected him so much that he fell into depression. As a response, Wachira confesses that he engaged in excessive drinking.
The teacher reveals that it came to a point where he could no longer hide his condition and started drinking openly, sometimes sleeping on the streets or in clubs. Wachira vividly recalls that his parents and other family members tried to help him but in vain. He ruefully adds that he couldn’t keep any friends as everyone avoided him.
In 2023, he reflected on his life and realised that he was wasting himself. “I had a job but could not save even a cent. From the time, I got out of college in 2001, I got a well-paying job but I spent all my salary on alcohol. I realised I had destroyed my life, I had nothing, not even clothes. I decided it was time to change.
Constable Hinga, Kimani, and Wachira are driven by unity of purpose. They engage students and youth and have discussions on the dangers of alcohol and substance abuse. The trio uses their experiences to tell the youth about what happens when one becomes a drug addict.
This way, Constable Hinga adds, they have seen a positive change in over 3,000 students. They also hold motivational talks in other schools. “We tell the youth that bad company corrupts good behaviour. We always remind them to avoid bad company as much as possible. Walk with people who will shape your life positively. Peer pressure has destroyed many lives”, offers the police officer.
As the three conclude their tales of difficult journeys they have travelled, barely 100 meters away, parents and religious leaders embark on a ‘crisis’ meeting at a nearby chief’s camp over increased consumption of illicit brews and narcotic substances in the Country.
As they weigh on the subject, bearing in mind what is happening to the country’s youth, they affirm that the time has now come for a fundamental change in attitude by all Kenyans and acknowledgment of the pervasive and pernicious role drug and alcohol abuse play in the country.
The parents through their spokesman Peter Tena say alcohol and drug abuse poses a threat to national security. They call for concerted efforts between law enforcement agents, community leaders, and religious fraternities to eliminate drug and substance abuse across the country.
Tena regrets that consumption of bhang in Kenya has risen by 90 per cent in the last five years, becoming a major concern. “Based on the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) 2023 report nearly a million Kenyans are using cannabis sativa; that is, one in every 53 people is using this drug in the country,” he indicates
According to Tena drug abuse ranks third after terrorism and armed banditry as a threat to national security.
He calls for deeper collaboration between the Ministry of Interior, the National Authority for the Campaign against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada), and county governments in strengthening the collective fight against drugs and substance abuse in a bid to expand treatment and rehabilitation services.
Tena also urges the Court system to issue stringent bail terms and deterrent fines to offenders contravening the provisions of these laws to completely eradicate and discourage illicit brew consumption.