Back 'newspaper articles' index.

There are celebrations all over the country going on now as teachers, parents and their children celebrate the results of their Kenya Certificate of Primary Education KCPE exams.

But this exam symbolises tha starting point for many who are now going to be exposed for the first time, to another exam. An exam with only one question, but which will not only determine their future, but in many cases wether they live or die. That exam is the "drug test". The question is "do I use drugs or not?"

Yet this, unlike all other exams, they are totally unprepared for. For the country is in denial.Parents, teachers, clergy or government officials are totally ignorant on the issue of drugs and drug absue and the fact that their children will face this exam at one point or another in their lives. In short the country's children are about to be abandoned by their parents, and government to their own devices. Many will fail this exam and die.

Why are we like this? Well we are like an alcoholic beginning receovery who talks about having realised how alcohol has messed up their life and how he is going to change but who never really gets changed. They go through all the motions and say all the correct things but are still unwilling to let go and "walk the walk". Instead they find it easier to "talk the walk" and sooner rather than later they are back to drinking.

Kenyans too are like this when it comes to the issue of alcohol and other drugs where periodically an incident occurs and they come out of the woodwork in all shapes and hues saying how bad these drugs are and that something must be done. having satisfied themselves that they have not just stood by quietly, but have expressed moral outrage, they disappear from whence they came. Until the next incident.

True to form after three young, Kenyans regrettably lost their lives last december 5 last year, kenyans are out in full force "talking the walk". But this time we need to boldly combat alcoholism. For though we have just celebrated 41 years of independence a lot has changed, yet everything is still the same.

In 1977 I sat for my O-levels at Lenana High School immediately after, followed by a spate of "leavers bashes". We wore bellbottom trousers, and platform shoes and some of us guys plaited out hair while others had Afro hair-dos. Some wore earings (or studs as they were referred to) on one ear with the ear you chose also announcing your sexual proclivity to those in the know. And we all drank roros" short for keroro or booze.

That was 27 years ago during wich time I crossed over into alcoholism, messed up my life and that of those around me, all the while drinking, and in denial until finally I slammed against the life-saving barrier of reality. It held me teetering precariously on the edge of the abyss until I accepted my disease. ironically this too was 27 years after my first drink in form one.

We would have died in any number of ways during those years. Some of my coleagues did. But those deaths were attributed to "accidents" with nobody wanting to dig deeper. Byt the grace of God I survived, but 27 years later three young Kenyans did not. We (are)¹ angry and batying for someones blood. Somebody must pay. But did alcohol have to kill Master Mark Ndonye Karuu, Ms. Mary Anne Nyokabi both 22 or 19-year-old Geoffrey Omenda who died in the stampede at Carnovore Restaurant?

Because here now 27 years later, kids are again wearing platforms, bellbottoms are back, young men braid their hair, wearing earings on both years, still call bhang ndom and miraa handa. Rapper Nonini has released the song keroro after a protracted wrangle with another rapper over who came up with the word first! And young Kenyans are still dying. Everything changes yet everything stays the same!

Now 27 years later we have parents baying for someone's blood. Same. We have the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (NACADA) - adifference. Led by the Nationa Co-ordinator they fired the opening salvo in a press conference on December 7 two days after the tragedy. Flanked by the pastors of several churches Prof David Ndetei a prominent psychiatrist they read a press release.

It asked "can we afford to sacrifice the lives of our youth at the alter of easy coming tax money from selfish multinationals? Is this government happy to run on blood money- for that is what taxes from beer and cigarettes are - without regard to future generations?"

The media was not spared either over their advertising revenue nor were religious leaders who were accused of resting on their laurels instead of standing up "against the moral decadence being propagated in our society today." It concluded that the "management of canivore and producers of Smirnoff alcohol must be held responsible for the mayhem witnessed as the restaurant and the deaths and injuries that ocurred."

At the well atteneded press conference, Kaguthi added his voice by stating that "the death at Carnivore is therefore just the tip of the iceberg kept afloat by glamorous youth targetted adavertising of alcohol in the media. This goes on despite an explicitly Code of Advertising Practice and Dierct Marketing of the Marketing Society of Kenya that prohibits advertisements directed at children below the age of 18 years. Over 50 percent of the Kenyan population falls in this barcket, which means no media in the country, should ever carry any advert on alcohol and cigarettes."

Since then all manner of views have been carried in the print and electronic media with one culprit becoming the fron runner-advertisments, specifically billboards.

On December 13 two lobby groups namely the National Association of Parents and the Muslim Youth Agenda network joined the fray with a call to pull down billboards promoting alcohol consumption. Mr. Sammy Musau Nudunda and Chairman of the parents group, Peter Muthuri were quoted in a section of the media as blaming "the advertisments for a 65 perecnt rise in alcohol abuse among the youth and 70% in smoking." They issued a 21-day ultimatum after whcih they said they would mobilise parents to pull down the billboards.

"Talking the walk!" A sacpegoat is being sought. But this time we must walk the walk. Let us look at the event, the much touted "Smirnoff Experience". What was it about? It was about music. Several dance floors, several top calss DJs doing their thing. It was a "designe" event.

So slightly over 16,000 young people entered the gorunds. But more than this figure attented. yet it had been clearly stated by the organisers through the media that the event was for those over 18 years. In this country we condier these people old enough to vote, drive a vehicle, obtain a passport, drink alcohol and smoke cigarettes. In short we consider them adults legally.

Let us now remove cigarettes from the equation for this is not the correct forum. Even though alcohol and tobacco are drugs we cannot talk about them in the same breath as there is no safe way to use tobacco while alcohol can be used safely.

While we are at it let us leave religion out of the ratio too, for one's religion is a personal belief which though must be respected, should not be foisted on to others who might have equally religious but diffrent beliefs.

We are now left with alcohol whcih we classify as a socially acceptable drug when we closely look at it, as a drug. If alcohol was not at the carnivore could a stampede still have occured? The anser is yes. Any event which will record a high attendance whether of youth or adults always has the potential of a stampede leading to injury or death.

Of the 16,000 plus who finally got into the carnivore, the majority danced, were up close to their favourite DJs and other celebrities.

Some, as was witnessed on televison, were so drunk that they were dragged to special tents or passed out elsewhere as criminals frisked their pockets. The management of the Carnivore has been accused of not having enough security to weed out these criminal elements. But how do you tell who is who in a crowd? The crooks were dressed impeccably, and hardly looked any different from the rest. This is the same problem in all large gatherings today including churches. People come with one goal in mind-to steal.

Still, there are only two options here. Either we ban alcohol or we recognise that it is part of our culture- a super highway that runs the length and breath of the country causing great havoc through reckless drivers-those who would use it, first learn how to drive.

For alcohol affects negatively those who drink it as well as those who do not for as long as they cannot drive. We need to face up to the fact that the alcohol highway is amidst us and the only way to survive is to teach those who would venture onto it how to drive. How to read the road signs indicating danger ahead and for those who crash (like me) so that they can still be helped if taken for treatment in time.

We need to teach the passengers also about warning signs to look or for when the driver is experiencing problems, and we need to teach young people the dangers of staring onto this highway before they are old enough to drive.

But this is a job which all stakeholders must partcipate and since it is not only the lives of the youth at stake here but of the adults too, that makes every Kenyan a stakeholder with a vested interest in a positive outcome. That outcome should be reducing drastically the harm caused by alcohol misuse and abuse. For this impacts negatively on every sphere of an individuals life as well as on the community around him.

I recently returned from a one month workshop in Cape Town, South Africa where mid November saw the poilce there ready to deal with the 42,000 high school graduands or matrics as they are called, who were out in force to celebrate the end of their high school days.

The local police staions, the Area Crime Combating Unit, Dog Unit, City Police, City Law Enforcement and Traffic Police were all mobilised. captain Billy Jones in an interview with Dianne Hawker and Theresa Smith of the Cape Argus Newspaper stated that "the safety of our communities, includingh that of our students reamins our priority."

He noted that while many of the matrics were well-behaved, some became of unruly and rowdy when in crowds, particularly when "undert the influence of alcohol or other substances.". In 2002 a schoolgirl went missing, a venue where 10,000 pupils had gathered. Another pupil died, one was raped and scores were injured when bottle-throwing teenagers clashed with police.

To be continued next Sunday²

¹ Omitted from the newspaper article. Adminstrator

² Part two of this article was never carried despite repeated calls to the Editor In Chief Chris Odwesso who constantly referred the writer to the Sunday Editor Onyango Omollo.

This site is designed by David Ogot snr. and hosted by
Science & Engineering Research Center
©goinghomedotcom 2001 - 2006
Disclaimer Privacy Policy