Bartenders collude with sex workers to drug clients in Kisumu

Having your drink spiked is not an urban myth as Collins Oduor, 28,  found out the hard way.

As he staggered to Central Police Station in Kisumu on a Saturday afternoon, still in a delirium, he tried with little success to piece together the happenings of the previous night.

Neighbours, he said, told him that two ladies he had been drinking with that night were seen leaving his house in the morning, carting away his property. 

They made away with all his electronic belongings, cash and credit cards.  They even drove away in his car. Neighbours thought they were his friends.

On the fateful night, the bachelor visited a popular night club in the lakeside city where, in the company of four other friends had a few drinks before they were joined by a number of female counterparts.

Two of them nudged him to take the party home where he descended into disorientation after a few pints of alcohol served by the ladies.

Blood tests done at Aga Khan Hospital showed he had GHB, a complex sedative commonly abused to drug drinkers.

Euphoria, increased sex drive and tranquility are reported positive effects of GHB abuse. Negative effects may include sweating, loss of consciousness (reported by 69 per cent of users), nausea, hallucinations, amnesia, and coma.

In Kisumu, drink-spiking is taking root especially among sex workers some of who said they were driven into it by reluctance by their clients to pay them. This is supported by police records that show at least two drugging-related cases every week.

A sex worker at a notorious joint, who spoke on condition of anonymity as the act is criminal, said she laces her clients' drinks with a tinge of Stilnox and smears some on her breasts.

"I put a little on his drink while at the pub so that he does not 'blackout' too soon," she said adding, "that is why I smear some on my lips and breasts to make the knock out timely."

She said when the man is unconscious, they ransack their wallets and pockets for cash before disappearing. The source of the drug, it turned out, is crude pharmacies who sell the drug over the counter.

She added: "Smearing on the lips is tricky because you could yourself end up getting knocked out. We hear people in Nairobi have antidotes but we do not, so we just have to take a lot of caution."

Her claims that they collaborate with bartenders were supported by a bar owner who also sought to speak on condition of anonymity.

"I had to replace all my bartenders as claims of spiking were rife and that my girls were involved," he said.