Known as the home of champions, Iten town, home to the Elgeyo Marakwet County headquarters, is renowned as the gateway to greatness for both local and foreign athletes.
Thousands of aspiring and elite athletes, including foreigners, flock to the town for training.
In 2020, World Athletics designated Iten as one of the World Heritage Cities for Athletics Development for its enormous impact on the historical development of the sport locally and beyond, leading to an influx of more people into the region.
The surge in population has led to a mushrooming of training camps set up to meet the high demand of athletes visiting to prepare for national and international events.
In the 2019 census, the town, which has since been upgraded to a municipality, had a population of 56,196, but the number has increased since then.
However, some unscrupulous individuals have taken advantage of the town's prominence in athletics circles and its growing population to peddle drugs and other illicit substances.
There is now concern about the increase in drug and substance abuse in Iten and its environs. Women have cried out that drug abuse has wasted their men.
Athletes compete during a race in Iten in Elgeyo Marakwet County recently.
Photo credit: Pool
Some of the drug peddlers who have invaded the town pose as sportspersons and supply bhang, kuber and adulterated alcohol to the locals, with the most affected being the youth in the villages.
A sportsperson, requesting anonymity, said the use of hard drugs was on the rise.
"Something needs to be done urgently because apart from wasting our youth, sportspeople have also borne the brunt of this menace in the past. Some have been killed by their spouses and lovers who abused drugs and assaulted them. We have lost two athletes so far," she said.
The athlete said the peddlers are also part of the criminal network that has registered social media pages impersonating athletes to extort money from unsuspecting Kenyans.
"Several athletes have already been impersonated and Kenyans have been duped into accepting dubious running scholarships at foreign universities. Police have since arrested some and others are being sought," said our athlete source.
"Also, some athletes have been got into drug use and alcoholism and have lost everything they earned in their careers," said the athlete who has been training in the city for the past decade.
A resident, Mr Sammy Rotich, said the dealers have suppliers who bring the drugs to shopping centres in the villages. He pleads with the government authorities to do something about it.
"The dealers have escaped the keen eye of the government for a long time because it is difficult to detect them immediately," he claimed.
"The government should strengthen its intelligence systems to cut off the supply of the drugs and substances and arrest the culprits," he appealed.
Mr Rotich said that while the police have done a commendable job in reducing the supply of busaa and changaa, the threats of bhang and kuber are still real.
"Recently, a vehicle full of adulterated alcohol was intercepted at Kamwosor in Keiyo South and the suspects were rescued by police after angry members of the public descended on them, threatening to lynch them. They accused them of being responsible for disturbing the youth," he said.
Ms Linah Kemboi, a resident of Rokocho in Keiyo South, said young men had been turned into ‘zombies’ after being wasted by kuber, a tobacco product that has more nicotine than cigarettes.
"Last week, we joined the local chief and police officers in demolishing a cave that the youths had turned into their hideout to consume the substance. They put it in their mouths and get high in no time," she said.
"Our sons are no longer giving us children and we call on the government to stop the supply of this new drug that has made our children unproductive. It is not only in Rokocho, but all the major centres in the county have kuber joints".
According to the Iten Municipality Integrated Development Plan 2019-2023, there are more than 100 alcohol outlets in the municipality, most of them in the town. There is one alcohol depot and four wine and spirits wholesalers.
Abuse of alcohol is common in the community and includes illicit brewing, which is licensed by the county government and enforced by national government security agencies.
A rehabilitation centre has been established at the Iten County Referral Hospital to care for victims of alcohol and drug abuse.
Elgeyo Marakwet County Commissioner John Korir said authorities were mainly dealing with chang’aa and busaa, with isolated cases of new drugs.
"We have intensified our surveillance to ensure that we weed out drug abuse in our midst. The peddlers hiding under the training are new and we will crack the whip on anyone who tarnishes our sporting heritage," he said.
The administrator added: "We will liaise with the athletics management to help us weed out the rogue elements among them. We have also arrested several dealers and secured convictions. Some of the notorious suppliers are now serving jail terms.
He said the chiefs and their assistants have been given strict instructions to eliminate the menace and arrest those who still carry it.
Mr Korir also warned bar owners against selling their products irresponsibly and selling adulterated drinks.
"We have harmonised our approach in the fight against this vice and we will continue to do so until this county is declared alcohol- and drug-free," he said.
In April 2013, the chairman of the National Campaign Against Drug Abuse, the Reverend Stephen Mairori, commended Elgeyo Marakwet County for leading the fight against alcoholism during the opening of a rehabilitation centre in Iten.
"You used to have one of the highest prevalence rates of alcohol abuse, but your concerted efforts now make you a leader worthy of emulation by other counties," he said at the time.
