Drug trafficking in Mathare Schools

Primary school students in slums are being used to traffic drugs. This was revealed by various teachers and other education stake holders based in Mathare.

It is emerging that some parents and guardians have forced school children to engage in drug trafficking during schools holidays and other free days.

Speaking to Teach, St. Martin’s Non-formal School Head Teacher, Mr. Justus Nyongesa noted that the most affected are the girls. He also noted that the most commonly abused drug in the slum is chang’aa. "The pupils are forced by their parents and guardians to sell the illicit liquor and other drugs to the slum dwellers," he complains.

The head teacher further noted an incident involving one of the girls in the school who had been sexually abused and kidnapped by her mother’s drug clients. Though the community rescued the minor, the mother has been reluctant to press any charges against the abuser, afraid to lose business.

"I wrote a letter to the police informing them of the incident but no action was taken. It is alleged that the mother owes a lot of money to the kidnapper and that’s the reason she is afraid of confronting him," he alleges.

Nyongesa added that such cases of sexual abuse are common in the slums especially when the children are involved in drug trafficking. As a result, many pupils have been forced out of school because they have slowly turned to drug abuse while others prefer to continue with their parents’ trade.

While the girls are forced to give birth at an early age as a result of sexual abuse, most of the boys end up as hard core criminals.

"These children learn at an early age how to earn easy money through drug trafficking. As a result, they drop out of school and turn to crime to be able to sustain their economic needs," observes Nyongesa.

Mrs. Agnes Kioko, a teacher, has decried the low moral standards which has led to child abuse by relatives and family friends. She noted that there is need to sensitize parents and guardians on the importance of education and respect for children rights.

However, the teachers were quick to add that the main reasons for the failure to protect the rights of children are lack of education, and poverty among the parents and guardians.

They are therefore calling upon the government to put in place stricter laws to ensure that children from both poor and rich backgrounds are protected against such kind of abuses.