Effect of mûgûka chewing by the youth on criminal activities in Kibwezi West Sub-county

Abstract

One of the drugs that is widely abused by the youth in Kenya is mûgûka. National Council Against Drug Abuse reports that approximately 100,000 people in Makueni County consume muguka 92% of whom are youth. Despite this high percentage, few studies on the impact of chewing mûgûka by the youth have been conducted and adequately documented. This paper reports on the socioeconomic effect of mûgûka chewing particularly the anti-social behaviours concomitant of the abuse of this substance among the youth in Makueni County. The study on which this paper draws employed a descriptive research design and targeted informants inthree market centres of Kibwezi, Makindu, and Emali sub counties. 378 youth were selected using simple random sampling. Data were collected using questionnaires, observations and key informant interviews. Simple descriptive statistics were derived from quantitative data while qualitative data are presented as verbatim quotes. The findings indicated that criminal activities were positively correlated with mûgûka chewing (r=0.794, α<0.000). It is concluded that the youth who abuse mûgûka are more likely to engage in antisocial activities and behaviours in the study community.