Drug addicts in Mombasa County have devised new ways of getting high by smoking powdery compound found in transformer fuses.
Kenya Power’s Coast region manager engineer Ezekiel Molala said the druggies have been vandalising house meter boxes and transformer fuses to retrieve the compound said to have hallucinatory effects like heroin and cocaine.
He said the practice was rampant in Majengo, Nakumatt Nyali area, Mshomoroni, Changamwe and had so far incapacitated over 20 power transformers across the six sub-counties which has been the cause of frequent power outages in the county.
“The youths are removing the fuse from the transformer which they break then smoke the powder found inside to achieve a high similar to that from heroin or cocaine,” said Eng Molala. The drug addicts (mateja) who masquerade as Kenya Power staff to retrieve the powder, did not have KP uniforms, equipment and work identification card.
A government chemist in Mombasa (Dr. @Luther12) told Meria that the fuse contain Magnesium Oxide or Aluminium Oxide powder, compounds, which he said were capable of causing hallucinations.
Chairman of community policing in Bombolulu-Kisimani area in Kisauni, Abdalla Abdurahman said: “Some of the arrested youths confessed that they mixed the powder in the fuse with tobacco, which they said produced a high similar to that of heroin or cocaine.”
Githurai ilikuwa poa… had a great time with my family, though I didn’t get to meet any of the guys I grew up with despite taking a couple of walks around Kona.