Johannesburg - “I raised my son to be someone important in life, but whoonga destroyed him. Now it will take miracles for him to recover. I hate whoonga and I hate the people who are selling it.”
Those were the heartfelt words of Mandlenkosi Msibi of Chesterville, Durban, a father who has watched his 21-year-old son throw away his future for drugs.
On Monday, when Community Safety and Liaison Department head Ronnie Bhengu led police to about 20 houses, identified by the community to be selling whoonga in the township, Msibi was there watching events unfold.
The campaign was part of a three-day Youth Day event to root out the drug use and trade in Cato Manor, Chesterville and the surrounding areas.
Msibi recognised his son’s former school principal, Ntokozo Ngobese, of Chesterville Extension Secondary School, in the crowd and they spoke about the devastation that whoonga had wrought on his family.
“I have beaten my son so many times,” Msibi said. “I have tried to find professional counselling for him, but nothing has worked. I have sent him away to uMzimkhulu because I wanted him to be away from where he can access this drug,” he said.
“My son was very intelligent in school. He passed matric with flying colours, but his drug abuse worsened and he refused to study further.”
All the valuables in his home had been sold to feed his son’s hunger for whoonga.
The drug is a mixture of cocaine, the antiretrovirals used to fight HIV/Aids and Rattex.
“It is very addictive and the users get a craving quickly, pushing them to risk everything to lay their hands on the drug,” said Bhengu.
On Monday, Bhengu visited drug dens where the police questioned suspects.
“We found that young people were selling this drug, and, in some cases, their parents were also involved,” he said.
With dealing in drugs came housebreakings and robberies as addicts tried to get their hands on anything to sell for their next fix.
Ngobese said whoonga dealers had identified his school as a soft target and he asked Bhengu to ensure that the police did regular raids.
“Whoonga has led to many pupils dropping out of school. We have security guards, paid by parents, but they are incapable of confronting drug dealers when they arrive at the school,” he said.
On Sunday,
President Jacob Zuma said, during the Youth Day commemoration in Newcastle, that drugs, alcohol, gangsterism and the ensuing crime comprised the new struggle facing South African youth.
“We must declare drug traffickers and those who run illegal alcohol outlets that sell alcohol to our children the enemies of our freedom. They should be ashamed of running businesses that destroy children, the youth and many families.
“We must declare drug and alcohol abuse as the enemies of our freedom and democracy,” Zuma said.
The Mercury