Viral Disturbing Video Of Youth Sleeping While Standing Draws NACADA Attention

The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA) on Tuesday, July 18 launched investigations following disturbing videos that emerged online of youth sleeping while standing after suspected drug abuse.

The videos seen by Viral Tea showed the alleged substance users exhibiting symptoms of drowsiness, sedation, and confusion among others, with one of them showing a man captured sleeping while struggling to stand upright.

NACADA Acting CEO John Muteti in a statement to newsrooms revealed that the authority had launched a probe into the incidences and would cooperate with multi-agencies to establish the root cause of the matter.

"There are videos circulating online of persons allegedly suffering the effects of using a suspected substance after purportedly ingesting it in some parts of the country. In the videos, supposed users are seen exhibiting some symptoms such as drowsiness, sedation and confusion.

"Accordingly, and in ensuring that we get to establish the facts around the matter urgently, NACADA embarked on coordination of all responsible multi-agency bodies to get to the bottom of this issue," stated Muteti in part.

The Authority is also currently engaging the leadership in county governments where the substance is alleged to be available so as to adopt a one-government approach.

NACADA further announced that it had invited anyone with any further information to reach the authority through the following channels:

Chief Executive Officer, National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse, (NACADA)

P.O. Box 10774-00100 NAIROBI, NSSF Building, Block A, Eastern Wing 18th Floor +254 (020) 2721997/93

Kenyans can also reach out to the authority via email: [email protected] / [email protected] 

"We shall keep the public informed of the developments," Muteti added.

Viral Tea at the time of publication was unable to independently establish the drugs that led to the youth exhibiting those symptoms as depicted in the videos.

On Friday, May 12, NACADA released its national survey on the Status of Drugs and Substance Use (DSU) in 2022 which covered the last five years, from 2017 to 2022, with the authority relying on various evaluation tools to assess the effectiveness of drug and substance use reduction programmes implemented in the previous five years.

According to NACADA, three drugs that include alcohol, tobacco and cannabis were prevalent among Kenyans aged 15-24 years living in Nairobi, despite cannabis itself being a controlled and illegal substance in Kenya. The exception was khat which was prevalent amongst Kenyans aged 15-24 in the Eastern region.

President William Ruto's government enforced measures to curb the growing alcohol and substance abuse in Central Kenya's Counties of Kiambu, Murang'a, Nyeri, Kirinyaga, and Nyandarua. 

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, who is spearheading the campaign against the growing alcohol and substance abuse across the country, especially in the Central Kenya region, hailed the efforts in combating the vice by revealing how the cost of Bhang rose sharply.

"I am so happy that since we started this exercise in the Central Kenya region, a roll of bhang that was Ksh100 is now retailing at Ksh400. They are making progress.

"It is becoming unaffordable. That is right because the police are so alert, so those selling are now hiking the price," Gachagua stated on Thursday, May 4, in a forum where members of county assemblies from Central Kenya discussed formulating uniform laws to curb illicit alcohol and substance abuse.