How staff supply university students with deadly drugs

NACADA Chief Executive Officer Anthony Omerikwa during the Launch of the report on the status of drugs and substance use among University students in Kenya at the Bomas of Kenya on 13th February 2025 [David Gichuru, Standard]

A new report by the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (Nacada) has revealed that 18 per cent of drug access in Kenyan universities is linked to university staff, both teaching and non-teaching.

The study, conducted across both public and private universities in Kenya's eight administrative regions, involved 15,678 students. It found that alcohol was the most accessible substance at 87.3 per cent, followed by cigarettes (64.4 per cent), shisha (41.2 per cent), vape/e-cigarettes (31 per cent), and nicotine pouches (30.7 per cent). Among narcotics, cannabis was the most prevalent at 61.7 per cent, followed by cannabis edibles, cocaine, and heroin.