By Faith Mudoga

Tony Mutunga a -4th-year student at Daystar University is a skilled videographer.

He started drinking way back in high school out of peer pressure from friends.

Tony Mutunga

The outspoken Tony has been courageous and willing enough to come out and share his struggle with alcoholism in life.

“I am sharing my story not just for the sake of sharing it but to educate my peers, friends and this generation. I wouldn’t want to see anyone going through what I’ve been through. Someone needs to tell the truth especially to university students who go through this stage of life experimenting and being easily influenced into certain behaviors and situations.” Said Tony.

He explained that he started drinking way back in high school out of peer pressure from friends.

Tony recalls “It is definitely illegal to drink in any Kenyan high school and if one is caught they will be expelled from school. The only time they could drink freely was when they went for functions like music and drama festival. These are also the times when we would manage to sneak a bottle or two inside school.”

His drinking habit manifested when he joined campus. “When I got to campus things changed drastically. I had all the freedom in the world and I could get extra money here and there either by hustling or from my folks. I also had a bunch of friends who came from wealthy backgrounds and buying a bottle or two of alcohol wasn’t a problem. I could balance well between my party life and studies for a while.”

Tony described his early campus life as being fun and he lived his life to the fullest partying.

“In just a few months, I became something I never thought I could ever be.

I got into a relationship and it being my first ever I did not know how to handle a lot of things and especially the pressure that came with it. I would honestly describe the relationship as being toxic. First of all I fell in love with a girl who was older than me and had a kid with someone else. So I was already a step father in my first relationship.” Narrated Tony.

Whenever arguments arose between Tony and his girlfriend they would always end in physical fights.

Tony would leave the house and go drown himself in alcohol. He kept doing every day thinking it was a way to escape the relationship stress. Little did he know it was becoming something that would ruin his life.

He felt like he did not have anyone to talk to or to seek proper guidance from. Tony knew his parents would have never approved of the relationship.

For long he suffered in silence battling stress from school and trying to provide for the girl and her child.

“My grades began deteriorating and I lost focus and concentration on school projects. The relationship got worse and worse every day and I failed to realize that I was diving deep and deep into alcohol and other drugs.

While in his third semester he was lucky enough to get a well-paying internship.

“This was also the time I broke up with my girlfriend after being together for a year and six months. At this point I was seriously heartbroken and depressed without even knowing how to handle it.All the money I was paid from my internship ended up on alcohol and other drugs. I couldn’t function without alcohol at any time of the day. I could even go the whole day without eating but whiskey will be the first thing I take when I wake up.” Recalled Tony.

Tony’s performance at work went down and he got into trouble severally for not delivering. He said that he wished someone could have told him to save or invest.

After a few months, his internship job came to an end and this made him fall deeper into depression because he had not saved a single coin to support his drinking lifestyle.

He began borrowing money here and there to try to keep up with his usual drinking habit. This made him get into terrible loans and debts.

Tony reveals “I was living a miserable life at this point. I realized I had to be honest with myself and seek help because I could literally feel my body falling apart. I had to come clean with my parents with what I was going through because with no drugs I was going into withdrawal and it was the worst feeling ever that someone could go through.”

His parents took him to a rehabilitation centre. “At first it wasn’t easy but I wanted my life back so I decided to go through with it. I relapsed severally but found my way back with the support of my supervisor. I came back from the center two months ago and I feel like a new brand man ready to start all over again.” Explained Tony.

He is now planning to head back to school next semester.

“I hope that my story can help someone who is battling alcoholism. I urge young people not to throw their lives away. We should learn how to seek help whenever they feel depressed .” concludes Tony.