From Africa Recovery, Vol.12#1 (August 1998), page 9 (box within article on drugs in Africa)

Corruption and drugs in Kenya

By Catherine Mgendi

Although Kenya has established an anti-narcotics police unit and hosts one of the three offices in Africa of the UNInternational Drug Control Programme, drug syndicates not only use sophisticated methods but also have effectively pocketed some law enforcement agents, despite the government's determination to combat the problem. In a well-documented 1997 court proceeding, one District Officer and four policemen were sentenced to long jail terms for complicity in bringing drugs into the country.

Corruption seems to be a major part of the Kenya drug problem. In one recent case where 20 tonnes of hashish -- the largest haul ever -- were seized, the suspects were released for lack of evidence. Making his ruling, Mombasa Chief Magistrate, Justice Aggrey Muchelule, said the case had been "interfered with by the Mafia and riddled by police cover-up." In another case, it was revealed that 600 acres of the Mount Kenya forest reserve had been cleared for a bhang (cannabis) plantation. Administration police and forest rangers were used to guard the plantation.

The well-organized syndicates operate in the capital, Nairobi, and the seaside port city of Mombasa. Even the country's anti-drug laws, enacted in 1994, have been criticized for prescribing heavy punishment for drug abusers but leaving suppliers unscathed.

"Drug trafficking is a business of the rich and powerful. It is a network that is difficult to break," a recent forum concluded. And Mr. Samuel Limo, the Coast Provincial Commissioner, warned last month that if urgent measures are not taken to deal with the menace, Kenya, which has become a major transit point, might be transformed into a "narco state" in which the drug trade is a way of life.

Equally disturbing is the rise in drug abuse. Churches and schools have expressed concern over the "alarming increase" of drug abuse in schools. Most of the hard drugs, such as heroine and cocaine, that find their way into the communities are diverted from the shipments from Asian countries and South Africa that are headed for Europe and North America, according to the police.

"Drug abuse is a real monster and is one of the most devastating and crippling scourges facing mankind," the Provincial District Officer of Education in Nairobi, Mr. Erastus Kiungu, told a meeting of head-teachers in March. Findings of a study undertaken by the Child Welfare Association, released during the same month, revealed that one in every 15 Kenyan students is on drugs. This group primarily abuses bhang and hashish. Other studies indicate that 60 per cent of drug abusers are below 30 years of age.

Effectively tackling Kenya's growing drug problem will require more than just committed government action. It also needs greater international cooperation. As Minister of State Marsden Madoka observed at the 8-10 June UN anti-drug summit in New York:"Experience has proved that no single country can successfully control the drug menace within its boundaries."

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