Date rape drug sold like candy in parts of Nairobi
Many young people have been exposed to severe drug abuse.
What you need to know:
- In Kenya, Rohypnol is a prescription-only drug used for treating insomnia or as a pre-anaesthetic.
- When combined with alcohol, Rohypnol can cause unconsciousness and memory loss.
Gertrude Akinyi*, 16, the eldest daughter in a family of four, is just two years shy of being an adult. But she has dropped out of school. She has no skills, no education, just her body. When her conscience was standing in the way, she chose ‘digda’.
By doing this, she knows her health is on the line. Having lived in Mathare for the better part of her young life, Akinyi was exposed to a hard life from a young age, and struggles just to live to see the next day.
Akinyi said she was introduced to drugs by her friend Ana Chebet*, who is 12 years old. Unlike Akinyi, Chebet started using the drug after she was raped at the age of 10.
“I was introduced to it by my neighbour. I was raped and I became pregnant and I had to drop out of school because of it,” Chebet said.
“It takes me to another world, it feels like it is my world and no one else’s,” she added, laughing.
‘Digda’, known officially as Rohypnol, is a prescription-only medicine used for short-term treatment of insomnia (difficulty in falling asleep, waking during the night and premature waking in the morning), said Dr Fred Siyoi, the CEO of the Pharmacy and Poisons Board (PPB).
Rohypnol is an intermediate-acting benzodiazepine with general properties similar to those of Valium (diazepam). It’s used in the short-term treatment of insomnia, as a pre-medication in surgical procedures and for inducing anaesthesia.
‘Digda’ has “the most undesirable effects on the nervous system [like] sleepiness, headache, dizziness, dry mouth, reduced alertness and confusion,” Dr Siyoi said, adding, the drug may also lead to ataxia (lack of coordination), apnea (reduced respiratory function or temporary cessation of breathing), hypotension or coma.
Though the girls know that the drug is harmful to them, they continue to use it.
“I started using the drug last year. When I engage in sexual activity, I don’t feel anything, and I use the money I earn to buy pads, and I sometimes give some to my family,” Akinyi said.
She added that she wasn’t ready to have sex but she needed to make money.
“This friend of mine told me if I was afraid of sleeping with men, then there’s a drug that could drive out all my emotions and help me perform. That’s how I started using ‘digda’. Sleeping around for money now doesn’t seem like a big deal to me,” she said.
The girls buy the drug, which is supposed to be available only by prescription, for Sh150.
“If I get money, I just look for ‘mapusha’ (plug). Everyone has their own plug. As long as you have money to offer, they can give you any drug you want,” she said.
‘Digda’ comes in three colours — lime green, white and blue. The girls say it gives them confidence and lasts up to six hours in the body.
“The thing with this drug is that it gives you wicked confidence. You can literally stab someone and not see it as a big deal. Personally, I can sleep with two to three men a day, which normally requires me to take two pills at most to avoid feeling something,” Akinyi said.
“I usually don’t feel a thing and sometimes I fight, especially against those people I know are my [enemies]. What’s even worse is that with this heat, one can even undress in public. That’s how bad the drug gets to you.”
She added: “I just have sex with a client, and that’s it. They pay me according to performance, which is normally Sh200 a day, and on a good day maybe Sh500. I don’t get clients daily, so I just survive on what I make when I get it.”
“I stopped going to school because I was no longer interested. It was too much of a struggle and I eventually lost interest.”
Though ‘digda’ seems to be readily available to whoever wants it, the PPB said it was not aware that it is sold in the streets.
“The drug... must only be issued [by] prescription and we’re not aware of [its] illicit use in the market,” Dr Siyoi said, adding, the PPB will investigate.
Where is the drug sold? To find out, the Nation heads to Brickstone, Mathare, Nairobi. We meet an “escort” at the stage but they grow cold feet and we are left stranded in a place that would best be described as the lion’s den.
The sun in Brickstone estates burns blowtorch fury so we duck into an eatery for a cold drink. We quickly scanned for an easy catch and spotted a middle-aged man.
His dreadlocks were outstanding. Our smiles charmed him. And just like that, he became our saviour. We asked him to take us to Brickstone. He hesitated, asking what we wanted to do there, but he assigned someone to take us.
In Brickstone, we find one peddler selling ‘digda’ for Sh200 per tablet. Everyone seems to be selling a substance. Happy to see us, they approach us, smoking cigarettes or marijuana, saying, ‘mali safi, rada ni safi’.
They offer us ‘stuff’ and ‘digda’ but we laugh it off.
Our fixer tells us, ‘mnaenda kuwateka mbaya’. Not knowing what he meant, we laughed and said, ‘msee ile mbaya’. As we come out, we ask whether maybe the police will get us. ‘Ma sanse wanakanjwa zao’ (the police are given their share so they don’t have a problem with it).
Rohypnol, better known as roofies, roach, forget-me pill, date rape drug, R-2, rope, circles, wolfies and digda, was first made by Hoffmann-La Roche in 1975.
It was developed as a treatment for sleep disorders and as anaesthesia for surgeries, said Dr Jane Wavinya. The drug, which can be dissolved in liquid, was popular for being odourless, tasteless, and colourless. Unfortunately, this is what propelled its use as a date-rape drug.
“The effects of a ‘roofied’ drink often arise suddenly, usually within 15 to 30 minutes of ingestion. These effects may include confusion and disorientation, dizziness, fainting, nausea and vomiting, impaired muscle control and psychomotor skills, severe intoxication, even without alcohol, slurred speech, tremors, and trouble breathing,” Dr Wavinya said.
She added that she was not sure if the drug is sold in Kenya and has never prescribed it to her patients.
In Kenya, Rohypnol is a prescription-only drug used for treating insomnia or as a pre-anaesthetic. It’s sold in some countries as a sleeping pill, but is illegal in the United States because it can cause extreme drowsiness and is often used as a date-rape drug.
When combined with alcohol, Rohypnol can cause unconsciousness and memory loss. A Rohypnol blackout can last as long as 24 hours.
Victims of Rohypnol-facilitated sexual assault may wake up without remembering anything that happened after they started drinking, including how they arrived where they are or what happened to them while they were unconscious.
In some cases, victims may also forget where they were or what they did for several hours before they were drugged. Many young people are exposed to severe drug abuse, said Vincent Mwasia, a former vice-chairperson of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse .
“There’s a lack of knowledge that further contributes to the increasing rate of drug abuse. We live in a society where people are afraid to talk about what happens among young people and drugs,” Mr Mwasia said.
“I wish people knew about the risks involved when they abuse drugs,” he says. “We need to educate our people about alcohol and drugs. It’s a pandemic and we need to even educate teachers and parents about drug abuse at large,” Mr Mwasia says, adding, drug abuse is a societal problem, not a governance one.
“We need to decide as a society that we need to change how we view alcohol and drugs, and instead of condemning those who indulge [in them] we need to educate and inform them; we’re all to blame...
“We’re a young country. This is a problem we have inherited from our ancestors. We can’t blame each other or point fingers. We just need to work together to get rid of the problem.”
He argued that laws alone can’t end drug abuse. “Even if [we have the laws], what we need is for people to care enough to protect the law and not just obey it. Protecting what’s already being implemented is how we can make a difference,” Mr Mwasia said.
