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From the bottle to the battlefield: How a KDF soldier won his war against addiction
Leonard Onyango, 37, a father of two, during an interview on his recovery from alcohol, at the Nation Center.
What you need to know:
- Even now, Leonard lives with the painful consequences of his past.
- He is estranged from his children, who live with their mothers.
- His voice trembles slightly as he speaks of them.
At 37, Leonard Onyango, a Kenya Defense Forces soldier, carries himself with quiet composure, as though the storms of his past have been tamed. he walked into Nation Centre on the day of this interview with a small notebook in his left hand and a rosary on his right. On his neck hung a gleaming medal from a recent marathon. These, he says, are items that speak volumes about his journey.
Leonard is the fourth child in a family of seven. He joined the military in 2010, eager to serve his country and provide for his family. But along the way, his life took an unfortunate course. The father of two lost not just one, but two marriages to alcohol and marijuana addiction.
The first sip
Leonard recalls the exact moment alcohol crept into his life. “I had taken a loan of Sh350,000 for a business, but it failed. I was the sole breadwinner for my family at the time, and the weight of responsibility was crushing me. I thought I could drown my stress in alcohol. It started with just one beer, but that one bottle came to haunt my life for years,” he tells Lifestyle.
It was 2015, five years into his service. From one bottle came many more. Soon, nights in the club blurred into mornings in uniform. With alcohol came anger, and with anger came fights.
He remembers one ugly incident when, under the influence, he assaulted a fellow officer who ended up in the hospital.
“Alcohol made me violent. It was like I was living with a beast inside me,” he admits regretfully.
The drinking took a physical toll, too. In 2018, he was diagnosed with gastritis, a painful reminder of what the bottle had done to his body. But even that warning was not enough to stop him.
From alcohol to marijuana
When money ran out, friends introduced Leonard to a cheaper option – marijuana. What began as a way to sustain his cravings quickly became everyday dependence.
“Marijuana lies to you,” he says, his voice firm. “It tricks you into thinking you’re more creative, more hard-working. I used to smoke in the morning, daytime, evening…it became like a meal to me.”
For a while, the illusion held. But soon, reality caught up. Rent was overdue, his marriages crumbled, and he had to move in with his elder brother in Nairobi.
Life, he says, had become unbearable. The turning point came one weekend night in a club. Leonard had been drinking as usual when someone spiked his drink. He was found unconscious by his colleagues, his life hanging by a thread. “That incident shook me. I realised I was close to losing everything, including my life.”
Still, he says quitting was not instant. “It didn’t stop at once. There were many relapses. I would go for weeks without touching alcohol, then find myself back at it again. It was a cycle of guilt and weakness.”
A spiritual awakening
Leonard calls his recovery “a spiritual awakening.” He holds up his rosary as he speaks, his fingers lingering over the beads.
“There were times I would leave the club at four or five in the morning, but by 6am I was in church. Deep down, I knew what I was doing was wrong. God had already planted the seed of change in me, but it took time for me to do anything about it.”
His breakthrough came when he was transferred from Nakuru to Garissa. “That’s where I found God. My job was on the line, and I thought I would be fired. But my boss gave me another chance. It was like God Himself was telling me, ‘This is not the end.’”
Even now, Leonard lives with the painful consequences of his past. He is estranged from his children, who live with their mothers. His voice trembles slightly as he speaks of them.
“My addiction shook my family. I regret the pain I caused and apologise to every person I offended. I am not happy that even now, I am not living with my children. Losing my marriage is the deepest scar of this journey.”
Thankfully, he has made amends with his children, and they are now his best friends. He meets up with them regularly.
Rebuilding through running
Yet, out of the ruins, Leonard has rebuilt his life. Running has become his therapy. He proudly displays his gold medal from the recently concluded Nairobi City Marathon.
“Physical fitness is everything to me now. If I’m not in church, you’ll find me running. I wake up at 3 or 4am for my morning routine before work. Running keeps me grounded. It is my therapy session.”
He believes every person battling addiction needs something to channel their energy into. “If you’re addicted, find something to keep you busy. Replace the bad habit with a good one.”
Since 2023, Leonard has remained sober.
He sees his journey not as wasted years but as a period of learning. “They say bad memories make good stories. For me, bad memories made me who I am today. Every struggle was God building me up, not destroying me.”
To anyone trapped in addiction, he advises, “It doesn’t matter how many times you fail. Relapse doesn’t mean the end. There is hope, and there is a way out. Drugs will not solve your problems; they only make them worse.”
