Ten dead over drugs and substance abuse

At least 10 people in Luanda have died in the past four months of drug-related causes.

Residents said they believed the deaths resulted from overdose or drug deals gone sour.

Newton Kwame, the chairman of the Luanda Township community policing unit, said hundreds of youths in Luanda were addicted to drugs, with many of them being used to transport narcotics using motorcycles.

He expressed said a drop in the number of boys in primary and secondary schools in Emuhaya and Luanda could be linked to drug consumption.

Margaret Alela, a widow from Ebusiralo, Mwirumbi, has lost two sons in eight months. Her second-born son, Reuben Ominde, was a footballer. He was addicted to alcohol and died in October last year, leaving five children.

“We didn’t know he was also smuggling drugs on behalf of drug barons. His health started deteriorating since he used to drink alcohol the whole day. Smoking bhang was the order of the day for my son and he didn’t heed our advice,” said Ms Alela as tears rolled down her cheeks.

She said Ominde was the breadwinner and since his death, the family had been living from hand to mouth. And at the beginning of this month, her first-born son, Wycliffe Omutsani, died in unclear circumstances.

Alela said Omutsani was found in a critical condition in his house.

“My son was a drug addict but his death shocked us. His neck was twisted and had been broken. We rushed him to a nearby hospital and he was declared dead on arrival.”

She said Omutsani used to work as a clerk in Nairobi but returned home four years ago and refused to go back. He became a middleman in the drug trade.

Despite his poor health, his mother said she believed he might have been killed over a drug deal gone sour. To make matters worse, a third son has also become hooked on drugs.

In Emmutsa village, barely three kilometres from Luanda town, Ezekiah Angatia died three weeks ago.

According to a relative who did not want to be identified, Angatia had reached a point where he could not do anything without getting his daily 'fix'.

Laboratory technician

“They had nicknamed him ‘laboratory technician’ because he used to mix chemicals and drink them, then become hyperactive. Sometimes he could inject himself to stop trembling,” said a resident.

Other deaths have also been reported in Ebusakami Enyaita, Mumboha, Ebusikhale, and Emmuli Ebutuku.

At Ebusiralo Elwanga village, a university graduate who has been battling addiction for nearly five years is in rehabilitation.

According to his mother, her last-born son, a former student at Chavakali Boys High School, scored an A in the Kenya Certificate of Secondary Education examinations in 2005.

He secured a scholarship to study abroad.

“The community contributed money to take him to South Korea, where he spent seven years studying for a Bachelor’s degree in civil engineering. When he came back, he used to get contracts and spend the money on drinking and smoking bhang.

“His health deteriorated and he had this trembling in his hands and legs. He reached a point I thought he would die, but God intervened. He has not recovered fully but we hope for the best,” she said.

The woman claimed her son was introduced to drugs by his peers in Luanda town and that they would make quick money as peddlers. He was addicted to cocaine, bhang, and alcohol.

Joseck Ang’ana, a director at Caring for Kenya Kids, said officers at Luanda Police Station should be transferred, claiming some of them were colluding with drug dealers.

He warned that if action was not taken, the community risked losing an entire generation to drugs.

“We have been receiving death threats when we agitate against alcohol and substance abuse in this town. It reached a point we decided to sacrifice our lives for the sake of the community but we have realised the war on drugs can only be won through joint efforts by concerned parties,” he said.

Western Regional Coordinator Anne Ng'etich promised to find a long-term solution to the menace.