NAIROBI, Kenya, Aug 19 – The government has announced new measures to curb the rising use of cannabis and other drugs in Kenyan universities, warning that the trend is endangering students’ wellbeing and threatening the country’s future workforce.
Interior Cabinet Secretary Kipchumba Murkomen on Monday said security agencies had flagged an alarming practice in which cannabis sativa is baked into snacks such as bread, mandazi, and kangumu and sold to students within campuses.
“Because of the menace of drugs, particularly cannabis sativa, students in colleges and universities are being targeted through food items like bread, mandazi, and kangumu. These are disguised as ordinary snacks but are baked with cannabis,” Murkomen said.
“Edible cannabis is now prevalent around our universities.”
Murkomen was speaking during a security consultative forum, Jukwaa la Usalama, in Kiambu, where he announced that sub-county security committees will now be required to involve university and college leaders in their meetings.
“I have directed sub-county security committees to incorporate the leadership of colleges and universities in their security meetings,” he said.
“The dean of students, student leadership, local church leaders, and the business community must all be invited to participate.”
NACADA alarm
The CS’s warning comes months after the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) raised alarm over increased drug use in institutions of higher learning.
In February, NACADA released a nationwide survey conducted in 17 universities and involving more than 15,000 students. The report revealed that about 70 percent of those arrested for drug use or possession were students, with cannabis, synthetic drugs, and alcohol topping the list.
NACADA Chief Executive Officer Anthony Omerikwa at the time described the growing popularity of synthetic drugs as especially dangerous.
“This is like fighting an invisible enemy,” Omerikwa said. “You don’t see it coming, but by the time you realize it’s there, it’s already too late.”
He added that the findings should serve as a “wake-up call” for the country, stressing that substance abuse had outgrown being a campus issue to become a national crisis.
“This report will inform deliberate measures to either strengthen what we are already doing or inject new strategies to combat drug use,” he said.
Murkomen maintained that the government’s response will not rely solely on policing but on collective responsibility, involving schools, faith institutions, and local businesses.
