Are you out in good company?

What you need to know:

You could be a social party animal and love drinking out with friends or family. Going to parties with groups of people is fun especially if you can get introduced to new people through your friends. But do you know that some of such moments could bring your life to an end? Didas Kisembo shows you how.

The worst part about ‘death under mysterious’ circumstances is that the mystery will bite at those left behind for eternity. When Fidel Odinga passed on last week, one of the things that puzzled the concerned parties is how the life of a budding healthy father of one and son to Kenya’s political strongman Raila Odinga could be cut short so suddenly in his sleep.

Kenyan and the social media spaces have since been abuzz with conspiracy theories as to what could have been the cause of his death. So far, even suggestions that he could have been poisoned have been flaunted about. Police have so far managed to retrace the timeline of events leading to his demise and it does raise, not just one question, but several.

On the night before his death, Odinga was last cited socialising at Sankara Hotel in the posh Westlands suburb of Nairobi. Eye witnesses and friends say he was in high spirits and was as lively as usual. When it came to time of departure, however, the now tipsy Fidel Odinga, in an attempt to avoid alcobow – the Kenyan version of kawunyemu, where traffic drivers arrest drunk drivers using the breathalyser test – called on two special hire drivers from a local transport company.

One chauffeured him home in his Range Rover while the other followed closely behind. On getting home, Odinga went straight to bed, never to wake up. And therein lay the spot of bother for the security agencies. What could have happened between the hotel and his home? And as the nation eagerly awaits the pathologists’ results to clear this mystery, the issue of caution while partying late night has been pushed afore by this highly publicised unfortunate event.

Closer to home
In 2014, there were several instances of people dying while or after a night of merry making. One such was of Daniel Babara, a Nkozi University student who, in September, was shot dead during a drunken scuffle in a night out. Another was of Ronald Anguma who died while out at Alfredos Dineout in Bukoto, a Kampala suburb. The list goes on.
This week, we explore some of those unguarded moments that leave us vulnerable to such unfortunate outcomes.

Rodgers Assimwe, a psychologist and counsellor, acknowledges the issue of spiking food or drink – putting alcohol or drugs into someone’s drink or food without their knowledge or permission – is one that is becoming rampant on the social scene.

“People are creating cocktails with a high alcoholic potency which not only weaken a person but also create health complications,” he explains. “I have seen people collapse after drinking such and for others, much as still standing, can hardly stagger back home.”

Food laced with substance
The intoxication, Assimwe adds, does not end with spiking drinks but lately, food too is being tampered with. “Kampalans are always looking for ways to reach the state of ultimate drunkenness or even lose their lucidity and with each day are getting more inventive,” he says. “I was at a house party recently and was treated to pork which had sprinklings of green. At first I thought the green stuff were some form of vegetable but later shockingly discovered it was weed. Upon inquiry, I was informed it was barbeque weed.”

The counsellor cautions people to be mindful of what is in their drink or food. Otherwise, they risk intoxication by substances that puts them at risk of death. “Worst case scenario, you are rendered helpless by that food or drink and end up falling prey to a strangers’ ill intentions,” he notes.

Assimwe confesses to have witnessed instances where a young woman enters a club sober and ends up being carried away looking senseless by strangers. He always wonders what happens thereafter.

Some examples of drugs that have reportedly been used for drink spiking include, gamma-hydroxybutryate (GHB), gamma-butryolactone (GHL), and most often benzodiazepines, including valium and rohypnol and also Ketamine. Assimwe says these drugs are readily available to the public in private pharmacies and also some hospitals.

Pork feast turns sour
Last year, Doreen Nabatanzi, a student at Makerere University, experienced something close to that except she was lucky to have had friends, who looked out for her. “I went out to hangout with five of my friends. And while there, we drunk and danced as a man who we did not know approached us and offered to buy for us pork. We accepted his offer. However, within an hour of consuming it, I started feeling dizzy,” she narrates.

“At first I thought it was I only but the other girls started complaining too and one of them even started throwing up. It is then that the man offered to drop us off but we refused. My stomach turned. I do not know how but I became paranoid that we had been poisoned.”

Nabatanzi says, as the time dragged on she and her friends got worse and the man fled. Nevertheless, supporting each other arm in arm, they managed to make it out of the club and pleaded with a taxi driver to rush them to the nearest hospital which was Kadic Hospital in Bukoto. At around 3am where they were admitted, until dawn for food poisoning. “I’m now wary of eating anything while at hangouts. Luckily, that night that I was out with my friends. I do not know what would have happened if I were alone,” she concludes.

When are you at risk
Rodgers Assimwe points out that the other main avenue for spiking drinks or food is usually through leaving them at the mercy of strangers. “When you excuse yourself to use washrooms and leave your drink or food with strangers. If they are ill-intentioned, they could decide to tamper with them to achieve their goals,” he says.

“That stranger may want to rape or even kill you. Why give them opportunity by leaving your drink or food in their charge.”
He advises that if one should go out to party, that let it be with trusted friends and cautions that they ought to buy their own drinks and while they are at it watch the bartender prepare your drink.

“Do not accept any drinks from strangers. Accompany the person to the bar if you do wish to accept the offer of a drink from a stranger. Take the drink from the bartender yourself,” he says. “Do not take your eyes off your drink. If you have to leave the table (to go to the toilet, for example), ask a friend to watch over the drinks.”

And finally, he notes that it is imperative that one choose a public place when out on a date with someone they do not know very well. “Ask a friend to call you during the date to check that everything is okay. Arrange your own means of transport home, for example, use a taxi or have a friend or family member pick you up after the date.”

Lone wolf
Then there is the curious case of the ‘Lone Wolf’ where someone decides to go and hang out without friends or even without letting in on a concerned party on their whereabouts.

In January 2014, a female student at Makerere, Peninah Kobusingye, was attacked, raped and killed by assailants who later dumped her body in a bush. The second year student who was pursuing a Bachelor’s degree in bio-chemistry was at the time returning from a night out with friends and was on her way back to hostel. There were several other cases across the year where people lost their lives, either on the way home or after getting home.

Joseph Katelegga , a local community policing enforcer in the Bwaise, a Kampala suburb, says it is usually difficult to oversee the security of those who move out at night on their own. “When a person is killed or dies after a night out where they went alone, it becomes hard to ascertain or trace their last moments and identify the circumstances or forces behind their death because there are usually no witnesses to it.”

Katelegga says in Bwaise alone, they had more than 20 cases of lone wolves losing their lives in the previous year. He advises against people moving out on their own. However, Thomas Opio, a student at Uganda Christian University, Mukono has a divergent view on this. He argues that being a lone wolf can be fun and thrilling.

“Think about it. You could meet a lot of girls while out alone and probably even get lucky.”
When confronted with the instances of cases where people have lost their lives, he nevertheless acknowledges that caution should be taken while going out alone. “I guess it is important that I leave behind a will and my whereabouts,” he quips.

Rodgers Assimwe , a psychologist, says the youth are adventurous and open-minded about many things but emphasises that a red line must be drawn beyond which point they should not cross if their safety is to be ensured while they are making merry.