Rehabilitation centres overwhelmed as county struggles with drug abuse

Rehabilitation centres in Meru County are overwhelmed by the number of drug and alcohol addicts.

Meru County Alcoholic Drinks Control Board CEO Mbaabu Muguna said the five private rehabilitation facilities are full.

Governor Kawira Mwangaza launched the construction of a 100-bed capacity rehabilitation facility in Buuri Sub County.

Dr Muguna regretted that the county was facing a burden of alcohol and drug addicts.

“We have started a rehabilitation centre that has a 100-bed capacity. It is 90 per cent complete, at Kiirua. This is to help mostly those people.”

Muguna said that the private rehabilitation facilities are costly.

“They are also very expensive, with the facilities charging (between) Sh150, 000 to Sh200, 000 per full course (of treatment). Ours will be affordable and will have accreditation to government insurance fund," he said.

Governor Mwangaza said construction of the Meru County Rehabilitation and Treatment Centre, the only such public facility in Upper Eastern, would go a long way in addressing the menace.

Muguna revealed that part of the board’s efforts was imposing a ban on bars in residential estates.

He warned dealers against flouting the law on the location of bars or selling alcohol to school children.

"The law clearly states that alcohol should not be sold 300 metres near any basic education institution. Bar owners should have signs and writings to ensure alcohol is not sold to children. Even if the bar is located a kilometer away and we discover it is selling alcohol to children, we always arrest and charge the culprits immediately,” he said.

Muguna said the board had also closed bars near schools.

“We have also declined to license them. Some are quite notorious for selling alcohol to children,” he said.

The board closed two factories that were manufacturing counterfeit alcohol at Kinoru and Nkubu areas.

Methodist Treatment and Rehabilitation Center director Catherine Mutua said, the high number of alcohol and drug addicts was taking a heavy toll on the community and called for renewed intervention measures.

“The most vulnerable are those in high school who start to influence each other, from age 13. By the time they are 18, it becomes a serious problem and some drop out because of the drugs, including bhang. I am appealing to the local administrations to eradicate the supply of drugs near institutions, and illicit alcohol,” Reverend Mutua said. 

St Nicholas Rehabilitation and Industrial Training Centre director Nicholas Mugambi said the cartels selling drugs have invaded trading centers near the learning institutions where they lure students.