Alarm raised as number of Kajiado drug addicts remain high

Joseph Mbugua and Regina Gitau goes through therapy session at the Karira Center in Ngong Kajiado County [Peterson Githaiga, Standard]

A counsellor has raised a red flag on the growing cases of drug and alcohol addiction among the youth in the county.

The National Authority for the Campaign against Drug Abuse recently said alcohol and drugs were finding their way into the county through the Namanga border crossing.  

Veronica Muchene, who runs a rehabilitation centre in Upper Matasia, Ngong, said hard drugs were becoming common in the county's urban centres, especially Kitengela, Ngong, and Namanga town.

The Ngong dumping site, which neighbours Gichagi slums, is said to be a major drug trafficking den.

Ms Muchene cautioned parents to be on the lookout for addiction in their teenage children, saying they were easy targets for drug cartels.

Drug cartels

"Teenagers are more vulnerable. Most parents realise their children are on drugs when they are already addicted," she said.

She warned that some alcoholic drinks sold in the region were laced with hard drugs.

"Some of these alcoholic drinks contain hard drugs and lead to quick addiction," she said.

At the rehabilitation centre, The Standard came face to face with sad tales of youths fighting addiction.

"I dropped out of university due to alcohol and hard drugs. I would exchange anything, including my body, for alcohol," said a 26-year-old female recovering addict.