Elite cops lost jobs to alcoholism, they have message for youths

Successfully rehabilitated youths have given harrowing tales of their addictions and the plunge their lives took because of it.

Hillary Muthaura was a GSU officer working with the renowned Recce Squad and had a bright future ahead of him.

His desire to fit in with his counterparts however saw him engage in leisurely drinking that eventually degenerated into alcoholism.

“Little did I know that that would destroy my life. Eventually, I was sacked and I did not take it as a big deal because alcohol had numbed my thinking. I was insane. I would wake up thinking of drinking. Even before I was sacked, I would have black tea and put chang’aa in it to be able to work otherwise I'd shake uncontrollably,” he said.

 “With alcohol, everyone starts with a small amount but with time, it takes over your body and abuses you. You find yourself taking unhealthy drinks because that’s what you can afford,” he added.

Neither Muthaura nor his colleagues realised he had gotten addicted, saying getting help at that time would have saved his life from spiralling out of control.

Six months sober now, Muthaura says he hopes to rejoin the disciplined forces as he is still young and would like to help other officers facing a similar predicament.

Nathan Njue, another former officer, worked in the Anti-Stock Theft Unit but the challenges he faced in his course of duty put him under immense stress.

This prompted him to start experimenting with beer and after a while, he was scouring the villages for local brews.

When his wife eventually left him, things only got worse for him as it caused him to sink deeper into alcoholism.

“That is when I absconded duty and was sacked. I'm glad I have been rehabilitated and I would not mind getting back to work”.

Alex Njeru is a budding musician known as Young Rucas who has been struggling to break into the industry.

Njeru, who completed his university education in 2017, sunk into addiction after failing to secure a job.

He was hooked on bhang that he started using in 2011. When he started his music career, he believed that puffing the herb got his creative juices flowing and would not record while not under the influence.

“I had high expectations that I’d get a job after graduating. When that did not happen, I resorted to drugs to the extent that I was getting hallucinations,” he says.

Njeru is now in his fourth month in rehabilitation and hopes to upscale his music career once he fully overcomes the addiction.

The three former addicts have been rehabilitated in a centre run by administration Police officer Moses Kimenchu who is known for saving addicted police officers.

'Sergeant Savior' partners with the Murang'a Ccounty government to offer subsidised treatment, which earned him a Head of State Commendation for his efforts to fight against addiction in 2018.

Another former addict, Faiza Wanjiru, started abusing drugs at the age of 14 while in secondary school and had to drop out.

Young and with no access to money, Wanjiru would take spirits with sodas but as she got used to the hard liqor, she would consume it without diluting it.

“I would take alcohol, cigarettes, miraa and bhang, and eventually got addicted before falling pregnant,” she said.

After giving birth, Wanjiru struggled to care for her baby as her health dwindled due to the heavy consumption of drugs and poor diet.

Her teeth chipped while her body was filled with scars that she would incur while in stupor.

She eventually became a petty thief and was arrested several times over the course of her 15-year addiction.

In a day, Wanjiru would consume liqor worth Sh300, Miraa worth Sh200, heroine worth Sh200, bhang worth Sh100.

To sustain her expensive lifestyle, she started spiking revelers drinks in clubs in Murang’a town to steal from them.

Her turning point came in 2015 when the national government undertook a nationwide crackdown on second generation liqour.

The then Murang’a governor Mwangi wa Iria started a free rehabilitation camp at Ihura stadium in Murang’a town that saw over 1,000 youths rehabilitated.

One of the beneficiaries is Faiza Wanjiru, who was rehabilitated for four months and was able to go back to secondary school which she completed in 2019.

“Many of the friends I kept back then have since died. Some out of sickness, others died after being hit by cars while drunk, and some have been lynched while stealing,” she says.

Wanjiru has since become a peer counseller and spends her time going to learning institutions and churches talking to youths about the dangers of experimenting with drugs and alcohol.

She also uses the forums to talk to youngsters on teen pregnancies, having had one herself.

“I am now eight years sober. I am concerned because when I was treated, second generation liqour went off the market but is now back and has affected many youths, both men and women. Many homes in this county have buried young people killed by alcoholism or suicides,” she says.

“It is concerning that the levels of sexual activity among students are very high including lesbianism and homosexuality."

She appealed to the government close down manufacturing plants that produce substandard liqour or compel them to only sell drinks that are up to par.

She called on the government to make more effort to empower youths as a way of offering them hope for a better future, saying hopelessness is causing them to sink deeper into alcoholism and drugs abuse.

Wanjiru said one of the side effects of her long-standing addiction is that her health had been badly affected. She has been consulting a gynaecologist after trying to get a baby for several years in vain.

“The doctor told me my reproductive system had been affected by the drugs but we are working together to have it remedied,” she said.