Daniel Maundu: I wasted 7 years working for a drug baron

Daniel Maundu grew up as a promising child owing to his top grades in primary and secondary school.

Maundu, the firstborn, was the family's hope to get out of poverty. However, his dreams of completing university and working as an IT engineer were shattered when he got introduced to drugs in his first year on campus.

In primary school, Maundu was always top of his class and when he did his KCPE in 1998 he didn't disappoint. He scored 617 marks out of 700 at the time.

He was lucky enough to be admitted to Starehe Boys Centre where his parents only had to buy his uniform which his primary school teacher volunteered to provide.

In Form Two, he got full sponsorship from German donors. Maundu scored an A- in his Form Four exam. He later joined Jomo Kenyatta University of Agriculture and Technology for a degree in computer science.

However, life took a twist in his First Year where he had roommates who were doing drugs.

He had never touched drugs from childhood, but the peer pressure was too much for him. He first tried alcohol but found it bitter. However, he got used to the taste with time. Next were cigarettes.

At the end of the first semester, Maundu was an addict of alcohol and cigarettes. To sustain his addiction, Maundu had to look for casual jobs during holidays. He lived in Nairobi by then. One of his friends convinced him to accompany him to Mombasa, Mpeketoni to be precise, where his aunt would give them jobs.

It turned out the job in question was drug trafficking. At first, the business was lucrative as there is a ready market in Mpeketoni. They made a lot of money but wasted it on drugs and cigarettes.

The woman was well known by police office and whenever one of the boys (peddlers) was caught all they needed to do was to flash the said mama.

When the holiday ended and Maundu informed the mama, she blatantly refused to let him go. She told him there was no going back once you were in this job.

For seven years, he lived a hopeless life of drug peddling.

However, as fate would have it, he escaped when the drug baron got arrested during the Muthutho days.

He has never known where she was taken to date.

When things got tough, Maundu travelled back to Nairobi and reunited with his family.

It was not easy for Maundu to quit drugs. The first few weeks, he suffered withdrawal symptoms and almost gave up.

He however fought hard and is today a crusader against drug abuse and has visited several schools to give talks to students.

He is looking for well-wishers to partner with on this mission to save the youth against drug abuse.