Defined by environment: How youth in Nairobi's Majengo struggle to stay away from drugs

Ibrahim Kalakacha is more than just a product of his environment, caught in the struggle between the harsh realities of life in Nairobi’s Majengo slum and his desire to carve out a better future for himself.

Born and raised in Majengo, Ibrahim’s life has been shaped by the challenges of growing up in a community burdened by stereotypes, crime and the suffocating presence of drugs.

From the outside, Majengo might seem like a place where only the most hardened survive, but for Ibrahim, it’s home — a place of both pain and hope.

The common perception that anyone raised in Majengo is a criminal or a troublemaker is something that Ibrahim, like many others, faces daily, and it often closes doors before he even has the chance to open them.

Growing up, he had big dreams. Like any teenager finishing high school, he thought that with hard work and determination, he could avoid the traps of drugs and alcohol that ensnare so many around him.

But as he quickly learned, dreams don’t always survive the grind of daily life in the slum. With no job, no money and no support system, the reality of trying to make ends meet became overwhelming. Ibrahim found himself turning to alcohol as a way to numb the pain.

"Initially, I started with alcohol, then it was bhang. And before I knew it, I started smoking cigarettes too. Drugs are everywhere here, and they’re so easy to get. You don’t have to look hard.”

Nothing to do

In a place where many young people are left idle with nothing to do, the availability of drugs feels like an easy escape — a way to cope with the deep sense of helplessness that many feel.

For Ibrahim and many others like him, the decision to use drugs was not about seeking destruction but simply trying to survive in an environment that offered very little hope.

“For us, it’s about survival,” he explains. “When you have a family to feed and no way to help them, the stress builds up. Sometimes you turn to petty crime just to get by or to feed your drug habit. You’re caught in a cycle of trying to survive, but it only makes things worse.”

“We need opportunities if the youth of Majengo were given a chance to learn skills, find jobs, and have something positive to do, I know many of us would choose a different path. It’s not about wanting to turn to drugs and crime — it’s about what you’re left with when everything else is taken away.”

Joseph Ochieng*, a young man with a deep passion for music, dance, and entertainment, has endured his dreams of becoming an artist continually crushed by rejection, primarily because of where he comes from. Every time he mentions Majengo, the community he was born and raised in, producers lose interest in him.

"Sometimes I feel like being born in Majengo is a curse. I’m so afraid to mention where I come from because I just want the chance to work, to be given an opportunity."

Other Topics To Read

• City Affairs
• Nairobi
• NACADA
• drugs
• Majengo slum
• youth and drugs
• synthetic drugs
• Defined by environment: How youth in Nairobi's Majengo struggle to stay away from drugs
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Struggle to find work

The struggle to find work is an ever-present challenge for Joseph, even when it comes to simple, informal jobs like those in the local neighbourhood (kazi mtaani) or the construction sites. More often than not, these opportunities are handed out based on corruption, leaving many deserving youths without any chance.

"It’s frustrating. I’ve found myself occasionally resorting to pickpocketing just to survive. No one really thinks about us; we’re on our own here," Joseph says.

Despite the lack of support, Joseph believes that even small initiatives could make a big difference.

"If there was a simple feeding programme, just one meal a day for the youth, it could change things. It could give us the strength to face another day."

Joseph highlights the harsh realities of hunger and addiction, which are the major factors driving many young people into crime and drug abuse.

It’s not that they want to engage in these negative behaviours, but the constant pressure of survival, along with the availability of drugs, makes it difficult to resist.

“It’s not because we want to turn to crime or drugs, but the hunger and the need to fund addiction become our main focus. We are vulnerable, and there are always peddlers who target slums like ours, preying on our desperation,” Joseph says.

Urban poverty

As The Eastleigh Voice team walks through the slums of Majengo, the signs of urban poverty are impossible to ignore. We notice groups of young people scattered around at different spots — some are deeply lost in drugs, while others sit idly, some staring at us with a mixture of curiosity and defiance.

As we approach a group of youths, they begin to speak up, eager to share their concerns with the government. Their main grievances are unemployment, illegal arrests and the increasing presence of drug peddlers in their community.

One young man, reluctant to reveal his name, looks into the camera and calls on the government to support them rather than crush their dreams.

"One of the crimes we are always accused of is being idle. When the police come, they just arrest us, saying that if you’re idle, you must be thinking of committing a crime. I dare you to stay here for a while, and when the police come, everyone will flee," he says.

Fiar treatment

He adds that all they want is to be treated fairly as citizens and young people and to be given opportunities to build better futures.

"The government knows who is supplying these drugs. Why can't they arrest them so that the issue can be addressed? We just want jobs," he says, pleading for a chance to change their lives.

Samuel Laboso, the Director of Anti-Narcotics at the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), has described drug abuse as a new form of terrorism that could wipe out an entire generation.

Speaking at a drug and substance use prevention summit, Laboso raised concerns over the rise of clandestine drug laboratories set up by traffickers, including those linked to powerful criminal organisations.

"Drug abuse is no longer just a social problem — it is an act of terrorism against our youth. It has the power to wipe out an entire generation," Laboso said.

DCI investigators have uncovered illegal drug production facilities in the country manufacturing highly potent synthetic drugs. This alarming trend indicates that traffickers are not only smuggling narcotics but also producing them locally.

Officials warn that synthetic drugs, previously found in other parts of the world, are now infiltrating Kenya, posing a severe public health and security threat.

Influx of synthetic drugs

"We are seeing an influx of synthetic drugs like fentanyl, crystal meth, and carfentanil in our institutions, facilitated by active distribution networks. These drugs are more potent, more addictive, and more lethal than ever before," Laboso said.

Stephen Mairori, chairman of the National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse (NACADA), has revealed that 53 per cent of Kenyans have used various drugs at some point in their lives.

A recent World Health Organisation (WHO) report highlights the severe consequences of substance use globally, attributing 2.6 million deaths annually to alcohol consumption, which accounts for 4.7 per cent of all deaths worldwide. Additionally, 0.6 million deaths are linked to the use of psychoactive drugs. Of these, 2 million alcohol-related deaths and 0.4 million drug-related deaths occurred among men. The report also estimates that 400 million people globally live with alcohol use disorders, with 209 million suffering from alcohol dependence.