AFRICANEWS

Kenya

A drugged future

Drugs

In a space of one month over 30 secondary schools in Central Province have been closed after riots by students. The cause, our corespondent tells us is drug abuse by the students.

Even though Kenyans are currently demanding the review of the country's constitution, there are fears that the generation that is supposed to benefit from the changes may not live to enjoy them. This is due to high incidences of drug abuse among the country's youth. With the rate at which the youth are imbibing narcotic drugs, there will be no country to speak of to enjoy these reforms," says Reverend W.C. Kogo of the Presbyterian Church of East Africa (PCEA).

The abuse is most prevalent in secondary school students in Nairobi and Central provinces. A recent survey conducted in the province by the provincial administration reveals that over 60 per cent of boys in secondary schools have abused drugs by the time they get to Form Four.

"Most of the drugs," says Rev Kogo, "have the effect of making the user either very lethargic, or very sadistic and violent, among other reactions." The common drugs that are being used are marijuana, Mandrax tablets, cocaine and heroine. And as a result of what has been termed as drug-related indiscipline in three districts of Central province- Nyeri, Kirinyaga and Kiambu-violence by students has forced the closure of more than 30 schools between June and July. So far the worst case of violence is that of Nyeri High School where drugged students, purportedly irked by the power and privilege accorded to school prefects, doused the latter's cubicle with petrol and set it ablaze as four students slept. All four died within a fortnight after having sustained burns on over 70 per cent of their bodies.

While talking on the issue the school's principal, Mr Patrick Mungai said: "It has been established that residents of nearby villages have been supplying the students with drugs, - particularly marijuana, probably grown in the nearby Mount Kenya forest."

Expansive marijuana farms have been alleged to exist in the forest. A September 1998 tour, of schools in the province by Deputy Principals was shocked to learn that students in one school in Kirinyaga district grew marijuana around the school - in flower-beds and in their agriculture and Young Farmers Club plots.
Most of the non-drug users have been cowed to silence by the addicts who threaten them with violence. In one incident at Kirangari High School in Kiambu District students set their newly-constructed multi-million shilling Dormitory complex on fire, supposedly as a show of solidarity with their colleagues suspended over drug-use. In another school in the same district, Kahuho Secondary School, students bayed for the blood of their Deputy principal and the discipline Master after the duo disciplined drug users.

What has made it easy for student in the province to have access to drugs is the proximity to major urban areas like the capital Nairobi and also the fact it is one of the most densely populated areas in the country. The violence results from family and economic pressures as opportunities and other avenues of self advancement diminish.

There is also the expansive nature of the country's secondary educational system. Overloaded with more than ten subjects, the system has put students under constant pressure. It is factors like these that have conspired to produce a large mass of frustrated young people in educational institutes with non-effective counselling facilities. Janet Gitau, a Form Four student in a rural school, born and bred in an urban setting says: "Drugs are not a problem here, but I have friends in town schools who use drugs. For some, is a result of peer pressure. For others, it is a reaction to frustration. Parents and teachers frustrate us. The government does the same, particularly with a very taxing education system. Young people are stressed and are looking to drugs for relief." On violence she adds: " We are living in a society torn by domestic violence, political repression, economic stagnation and everyday strikes." From these, she says " what we learn is that to make a point, you must be violent and that is when grown-ups listen."

There is also another angle that it is actually some teachers who are peddling the drugs to the students. Wilson John, a professional counsellor agrees and attributes this to the terms of service that the teachers work under. He says: "On e cannot expect a poorly-paid teacher to work effectively." At the same time he adds: "The teacher is product of the society; a society fraught with the misuse of drugs. It is very possible that some teachers particularly in the younger age-group, and more so from urban settings are drug users or peddlers."

The spectre of violence has also raised questions of how effective the current mode of counselling in schools is. There are arguments that it is inadequate and some counsellors are at cross-roads on what to do. One teacher-counsellor says: "These children are violent and rebellious. A teacher may be risking both his life and that of his family when trying to rectify the situation."

Rev Kogo has been working to sensitise stake-holders in the education sector on the issue of drug abuse. In July, he held two seminars, one in Nyeri town and another in Kiambu whose mission, he says, "is to point out to parents, teachers, schools managers and the civic administration that drug use is a reality in schools and suggest ways of curbing the problem."

He is doing this with the aid of the Kenya Anti Narcotics Unit.
For some these seminars were enlightening as they helped them understand their children. Mary Kamau, a parent of a form three student is one of these. She believes her son is an addict. "This boy is so violent," she says. "I even fear he could kill me in my sleep. He is headstrong, arrogant and full of hate. He is truant - always running away from school. I have taken him several times to the police for discipline to no avail."
However, not all is lost says Ms Njoki Ngugi, a lecturer at Kenyatta University. "It is refreshing that in a good number of rural schools, cases of indiscipline are minor and the problems of drug abuse, homosexuality and lesbianism are non-existent," she says.

| CONTENTS | AFRICANEWS HOMEPAGE |

AFRICANEWS - Koinonia Media Centre, P.O. Box 8034, Nairobi, Kenya
tel: +254.2.576175 (voice) Fax:- +254.2.577892 (fax-modem)
AFRICANEWS on line is by Koinonia Media Centre