• Two young men in a jovial mood at Tafika layby in Chibolya Township

By Sunday Times Reporter –
DRUG abuse in Lusaka’s notorious Chibolya Township has taken a new dimension with young persons aged between 10 and early 20s taking to injectables.
An underground investigation by a Sunday Times reporter has revealed that withdrawal symptoms among many young drug addicts are clearly visible.
Meanwhile, three young persons in the township have so far died from drug abuse, mainly cocaine and heroin, between December last year and this month.
A Lusaka resident, who could only identify himself as Mr Sichalwe for fear of victimisation said the latest death involved a young man in his early 20s.
“What the young man did was that immediately after taking the drug, he went to drink beer,” Mr Sichalwe said. “Shortly after he just collapsed and that was it, he was dead.”
A woman who chose to remain anonymous said his two younger brothers who were addicts fell sick whenever they had not taken their jabs.
“Before we knew that they were taking injectable drugs, one of them got sick and we did not know what was wrong with him until one of his friends brought the jab for him, that’s when he got well,” she said.
Lusaka resident Agness Chilando said her child was introduced to injectable drugs by his uncles at a young age, but she only discovered after noticing that her child’s life suddenly became a living hell. On several occasions, Ms Chilando had to follow up on her child in Chibolya.
“I was advised not to go there because some of my relatives felt it was not safe for me but I had no choice and when I found my child (in Chibolya) he refused to go home with me,” she said.
The boy’s drug abuse made him commit crimes and was recently caught stealing side mirrors from a car in Lusaka’s central business district.
The Drug-Enforcement Commission and other law-enforcement wings conducted raids on May 11 and September 25, 2014 to crack down on drug dealers in Chibolya. Despite these raids, however, the township remains notorious, a ‘hub’ for cocaine, heroin and other drug abuse.
Those involved in the vice have just changed tactics, conducting their business skillfully. This makes it difficult for them to be noticed, according to Mr Sichalwe.
Mr Sichalwe said in some cases, customers contact their suppliers by phone and agree where to meet, usually along Kafue Road, where they conduct their business.
“Even when you come to Chibolya it is difficult to detect unless you really know this place,” Mr Sichalwe said. “Sometimes they meet their customers along Kafue Road.”
Mr Sichalwe said that many electrical appliances such as Plasma TVs and laptops found in the area were not stolen items but were simply taken there as ‘collateral’ by drug addicts who had run out of money.
Ms Chilando said it was her prayer that those in authority could demolish Chibolya Township.
A mother of a 24-year-old drug addict agreed, saying: “Our children are being introduced to drugs in Chibolya without us parents knowing.”