(Last Updated on January 12, 2016 by Editor)
ZIMBABWE – A 17-year-old Highfield boy died after taking an overdose of drugs last Friday amid calls by his parents for all those selling drugs in the area to be arrested.
The deceased, Gift Abraham, fondly known as Banana died after taking an overdose of an identified drug which he took with his friend, Tafadzwa Kanyemba, 18, who survived.
The exact name of the drug is not known although Tafadzwa says it was a small pink tablet that of the same size with diazepam, which they used to abuse with the deceased.
The deceased’s mother, Precious Solomon said she was yet to come to terms with the death of her son vowing not to rest until those who sold the drugs to him are arrested.
“He was my first child and I have lost him to drug abuse. I don’t know where I failed him but I tried my best to raise him in a good way.
“He was not staying with my mother and I had realised that he was now into drugs. I tried my best to make him stop taking drugs but maybe I should have done more as a mother,” grieved Precious.
Narrating the events of the fateful day, Precious said she was phoned and told that Gift was critical after taking an overdose of drugs.
“By the time I got to Harare Central Hospital where he had been taken to, I was informed of his death on my arrival.
“Gift mwanangu ndomaendero aungaita here”.
Tafadzwa who also took the same drug with the deceased was still numb and resembled a zombie as he struggled to speak due to the effects of the drugs.
“We bought the tablets at 10 cents each and we had 19 of them. I took 5 while Banana took more than 10.
“I started feeling very funny and I could hardly walk such that I don’t even know how I got home. I should have been taken to hospital by my parents where the drugs were drained from my body.
“The next thing I was told that Banana had died. I’m still in shock, I never thought it would end that way,” he said while shivering as he struggled to speak.
“We started taking drugs in 2013 although we started with mbanje, broncho (broncleer), diazepam or anything that could get us high.
“The reason why we were now doing drugs is that they are cheaper than alcohol. The idea was to get high but in most cases we ended up acting like zombies,” he added.
While the deceased’s father is mourning his son, he is bitter that some people are making a living out of these drugs that have claimed his son’s life.
“We have people who are selling those drugs and I’m sure even the local police know all the places where drugs are sold.
“My question is how do these drugs find their way into those places. Do you just walk in a pharmacy and buy prescribed drugs without any prescription, if they are imported into the country, how do they pass through the border.
“This could be a syndicate of people making a living out of this cancer. Drug abuse has become like a cancer in the society and I know my son has died but if nothing is done, we have more young people who will die because of this,” he said.
“I know we have a role to play as parents to make sure that our children stay away from drugs and all but it also take the arm of the law to deal with those who are selling the drugs”.
Banana was laid to rest at Graniville Cemetry while his friend Tafadzwa is still suffering from the effects of the drug that claimed his friend’s life.
He says he wants to stop drug abuse although arguing that it is not going to be easy.
“I want to stop this but it will be very difficult because this had become my life”.