Police arrested 78 teenagers on Saturday, December 21, for allegedly smoking marijuana at a house party in Kisumu’s Mountain View estate, which had over 100 youths in attendance.
Kisumu Central Sub County Commander Peter Mulai confirmed the arrests, stating that the 68 boys and 10 girls, all minors aged 18 and below, were smoking cannabis when officers arrived at the scene.
“We found the teenagers sitting in groups, smoking bhang in a house, the owners of which are still unidentified,” Mulai said.
Some of the minors fled the scene by scaling the wall as the others were being arrested. The detained teenagers were taken to the Obung’a police post. Authorities acted on a tip-off from a concerned neighbor who noticed the large number of youths arriving at the house and the loud music coming from the venue.
Further investigation revealed that the party had been organized by one of the teenagers living in the house. “We are informed that the minors received an invitation via Instagram from the party organizer, who had anticipated over 200 attendees,” Mulai explained.
However, the organizer was among more than 30 individuals who managed to escape by jumping over the perimeter wall. Mulai added, “We have started investigating the social media platform used to mobilize the youths and are tracking the whereabouts of the party organizers.”
At the police station, all the minors were reprimanded, and their parents were later contacted to pick them up. A junior officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity, shared that many parents were shocked to learn their children had been involved in the party.
“Some parents couldn’t believe their children were smoking bhang. Like their kids, we also gave the parents a lecture before releasing the minors into their care,” the officer said.
Mulai confirmed that only three minors remained at the police station due to their failure to provide contact details for their parents. He urged any parents with missing children to contact the police station.
Additionally, Mulai appealed to parents to closely monitor their children during the festive season. He warned that this period could expose children to harmful activities, such as drug abuse, sexually transmitted infections, or even unwanted pregnancies.
“The festive season brings a lot of influence. This is when some children are introduced to drug abuse, contract STIs, or young girls get pregnant. Let’s stay aware of what our children are doing,” Mulai advised.
