When President Uhuru Kenyatta declared a war on drugs last month, Mabruk Hussein, a drug user commonly known as “mateja”, welcomed his pledge to crack down on barons instead of peddlers.
Hussein, who says he joined the sniffing gang after finishing his primary education, wishes it was easy to drop the drug-sniffing habits.
He reveals that the drugs are distributed by “big men with tinted cars” and they are well known to them and the society.
In 2015 at Mombasa court, Joseph Marwa, who was accused of having Sh100 drugs, confessed to the magistrate that politicians supplied them with the narcotics.
The magistrate was forced to cut him short to stop him from giving out names of their “supplier” in a packed court and ordered Marwa be taken for a mental check-up.
“When they arrest the barons we would not have the product. What remains is for us to drop the habit because if they arrest us, we are of no importance,” Hussein says.
“Drugs have destroyed my life. I’m the black sheep in my family as all my siblings are working.”
Read: We will not hunt ‘small fish’: Uhuru’s tough talk on drug barons
Mombasa county commissioner Nelson Marwa, governor Hassan Joho and Senator Omar Hassan with one of the Old Town drug addicts who surrendered on May 7, 2016. Joho donated Sh1 million to help in rehabilitating drug addicts. Photo file
Withdrawal symptoms
Hussein, who is tired of being isolated by his family, hopes to join a rehabilitation centre soon.
However, Mombasa has one rehab centre at the Coast General Hospital, which is partially operational as it has been deserted due to their high cost of treatment.
The national government has been working hard on converting the Miritini NYS Centre to a rehab that will serve as the biggest rehab in the Coast region.
Mombasa also has two private rehabs: Mewa hospital and ReachOut Centre. A private rehab centre charges at least Sh15,000 per month for the treatment.
Hussein has previously served a prison sentence after being charged with having Sh200 heroine. He was sentenced to two years in prison but was released during pardoning by the President.
A prison warder who sought anonymity for fear of victimisation said the government cannot wipe out the drugs at once.
He said they have seen the pain addicts undergo imprisoned over narcotics.
“They cannot access drugs while in jail. They are always in pain and some lose their mind due to lack of drugs,” he said.
He revealed that some prison officers have been forced to sneak in narcotic drugs to the addicts to ensure lives are not lost.
“We know it is illegal to sneak such stuff to prisons, but you have to weigh between the law and humanity. We mostly pick saving a life by supplying them with the drugs,” he said.
“Sometimes they give us a small amount of money but in most situations, we just save them from their madness situation.”
Some of the muggers and drug-addicts arrested at old town Mombasa on April 9,2015, when county security chiefs held a swoop. Photo Elkana Jacob
Demand, crime to soar
Mewa Rehab Centre director Abdalla Badusi says the government should stop the tough talk and get real with the war on drugs.
“They cannot sit in boardrooms and decide that they should eliminate drug abuse now. It must start from somewhere,” Badusi said.
He said the government should come up with a work plan on how to curb and eliminate drug abuse in the Coast region, especially Mombasa.
Badusi said demand for drugs is expected to go higher as the supply will be low. This will make the prices to shoot up compared to when the product is readily available.
“Once they do away with the drug barons, there will be no supply. What happens to the addicts who highly depend on it and their lives come to a standstill whenever they miss a shot?” he said.
Badusi says this will increase crime as the addicts will go the extra mile to attain the extra shilling charged to acquire the dose.
He said demand is also likely to rise for alternative drugs like illicit brews, such as changaa and muratina.
Badusi said there will also be high usage of caffeine products not categorised as narcotics.
“The addicts will now turn to drugs used in hospitals, which when correctly combined can make something more stimulating than cocaine or heroin,” he said.
He urged the government to open more rehab centres and support the ones that are already operating.
Badusa said the only way to fight drugs is to treat addicts rather than jailing them.
“Drug barons have been there for a longest time but they cannot be jailed. Once you deny them client-base, it will kill their business,” he said.
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