From addiction to advocacy: How ex-KDF officer overcame alcoholism; taking ethanol and chloroform

Speaking to Citizen Digital, Muchimbo candidly described how alcohol once dominated his life. Though he has been sober for six years, his journey was anything but easy. He now uses his traumatic experiences to inspire and support those battling addiction.

He started taking alcohol while in high school after being introduced to it by a friend.

“This boosted my confidence, and from that time I embraced it as a solution for my esteem issues because it gave me fake courage. By the time I was done with high school, I was hooked already,” he said.

After high school, he was recruited as a cadet officer in the military. However, the easy access to cheap alcohol only worsened his drinking problem, rendering him incapable of fulfilling his duties.

“I was dishonourably discharged from the military because I was already deep in addiction. My parents were very supportive; they tried to take me back to school, but I could not show up for myself,” he said.

In 2005, his parents took him to India, hoping that the change of environment would do him good.

“I went to India to study biochemistry. In the lab, I used to take ethanol and sniff chloroform. I was expelled in the first semester. There, I joined a number of Kenyans who were also addicts, and we would use even hard drugs and sell drugs,” he recalled.

After two years, he came back home. On landing, he was taken to rehabilitation, where he completed his treatment program but relapsed in 2008.

“I started a pattern of relapse that lasted ten years. My last rehabilitation was in 2017. The relapses were terrible; I was always ashamed and felt hopeless. My parents did everything to ensure that my healing journey was smooth,” he narrated.

“Alcohol would make me insane and violent, so I could not keep a job. When I turned 35 years old, that’s when I hit rock bottom and started to analyze how alcoholism had affected me and my family,” he said.

At that age, he was fully dependent on his parents and had accomplished nothing remarkable in his life.

“I was suicidal, but I found myself connecting with the higher power. Honestly speaking, that’s what helped me,” he said.

He started working on his healing journey while reflecting on his experience and gaining a deeper understanding of how alcoholism had affected him and his family.

“I had already decided that I wanted to remain sober and work on getting my life together. I went back to Qatar for work, and that was the end. Six years on, I have never taken alcohol, and I am at my healthiest—physically, emotionally, and psychologically,” he said.

Muchimbo is now an addiction counsellor by profession and works with recovering addicts at Hope Wellness and Restoration Center, where they are involved in eradicating the addiction menace within Thika.

Through the Hope Wellness and Restoration Center, he mobilizes alcoholics and supports them on their journey to recovery through treatment programs. He also emphasizes aftercare, where individuals receive empowerment and acquire skills through college.

He provides people with information about detox, managing addiction cravings, and understanding emotions.

“We mostly deal with people who cannot even afford to pay for rehab because of poverty. We mobilize them, and of course, we have to use some incentives like feeding programs and after-treatment care,” he said.