How drug traffickers use street children as couriers

By Michael Chepkwony

It is a cold early morning in Eldoret town and the few people on the streets move around easily as they begin yet another busy day.

Mr Davis Kamau, a social worker in the town, is among the dozens of people crisscrossing the town’s streets as he embarks on a delicate task.

A street boy shows injuries inflicted by a police dog after he allegedly defied orders by a drug trafficker to continue acting as a courier. Inset: Davis Kamau. Photos: Kevin Tunoi/Standard

"That is Buda," Kevo explains. Benzi bends and pretends to be searching for something in his dirty gunny bag before he removes a carton and hides something under a rusty metal sheet in the car wash. He then walks some distance away and sits down.

He dips his hand in his pockets and then pulls it out before directing it into his nose. As that happens, Buda, the ‘car washer’ walks to the rusty metal sheet and retrieves the items Benzi left. "Clean that car, I will be back soon," he gives orders before walking away.

Buda dials his phone as he walks along Uganda road within the Eldoret Central Business District. Still on his trail, Buda comes across a man and they shake hands as they chat. A deal has been sealed. The man walks into his car and drives away.

Buda walks back to his garage and continues with his business of washing cars. Kamau says police and some hospital employees are to blame for the flourishing of drug trafficking in Eldoret.

"A section of street boys reveal that the drugs reach them through some health institutions with the help of some rogue policemen," Kamau says. "They inform us that some businessmen reward them well to engage in the drug business since a lot of money is generated in the process," he claims. He says they have no idea where the businessmen source the drugs from.

"Whether they purchase from the medical centres around or any other source is what we are yet to establish," he says.

He says they have received complaints of street children who die due to use of the narcotics or those killed by the dealers who fear being exposed.

Drug abuse among street persons, says Kamau, has undermined his organisation’s objective of reforming them.

Police role

"They cannot openly express themselves and that makes counselling hard. Some return to the trade even after rehabilitation," he laments.

"Police know everything about the trade and yet they do nothing about it. Some medics are in it too," he notes.

But Uasin Gishu OCPD Muinde Kioko, says police have not received any reports about street children being used to traffic hard drugs.

"We do not rely on rumours. We know of street boys sniffing glue but no one has reported those peddling hard drugs and brought evidence so that police can make arrests," says Kioko.

He, however, appeals to NGOs working with street children to assist the police if at all there was evidence so that the suspects can be arrested.

Kioko also accuses some NGOs of abusing their offices by creating alarming issues for them to attract funding from donors and charitable organisations.