| Ethnic divisions account for many of Kenya's problems. During the early 1990s, tribal clashes killed thousands and left tens of thousands homeless. Ethnically split opposition groups allowed the regime of Daniel Toroitich arap MOI, in power since 1978, to be reelected for a fourth term in 1997 in balloting marred by violence and fraud.  Kenya is well placed to serve as an engine of growth in East Africa, but its economy is stagnating because of poor management and uneven commitment to reform. In 1993, the government of Kenya implemented a program of economic liberalization and reform that included the removal of import licensing, price controls, and foreign exchange controls. With the support of the World Bank, IMF, and other donors, the reforms led to a brief turnaround in economic performance following a period of negative growth in the early 1990s. Kenya's real GDP grew 5% in 1995 and 4% in 1996, and inflation remained under control. Growth slowed in 1997-99 however. Political violence damaged the tourist industry, and Kenya's Enhanced Structural Adjustment Program lapsed due to the government's failure to maintain reform or address public sector corruption. A new economic team was put in place in 1999 to revitalize the reform effort, strengthen the civil service, and curb corruption, but wary donors continue to question the government's commitment to sound economic policy. Long-term barriers to development include electricity shortages, the government's continued and inefficient dominance of key sectors, endemic corruption, and the country's high population growth rate.
In Kenya, the cultivation of cannabis has a long tradition but in recent years it has moved from being a crop grown to supply a limited market to becoming a commercially significant crop produced for profit on a large scale. It is cultivated in the western region and increasingly in the Mount Kenya region where there are reports of 1,500 hectares under cultivation, some in the lower farmlands concealed among traditional crops and smaller cultivation in the higher reaches in areas regarded as national wildlife reserve. It is also grown in the coastal region where farmers in remote areas can easily find suitable land to cultivate the crop without concern about detection, to supply large demand in coastal towns as well as the lucrative tourist industry. The true extent of cultivation is not known.
Opium poppy has also been grown from time to time in Kenya and along the coastline of Madagascar. The reduction of methaqualone production in the traditional source country (India) has been compensated to some extent by local African production as indicated by the detection of laboratories in some Southern/Eastern African countries. While some reported "laboratory" activities such as in Kenya and Tanzania only related to the tableting of the drug with the continued importation of the powder from India, others seem to involve the actual production of methaqualone though the origin of the required precursors is unknown. In this context the substances of major concern are ephedrine, pseudo-ephedrine, acetic anhydride and N-acetylanthrinilic acid (used in the illicit manufacture of methaqualone, as well as potassium permanganate.
Several countries in the region are known for their extensive khat cultivation, which is a legal crop in many countries in the region. It is mainly grown in Ethiopia and Kenya.
Kenya has the biggest commercial seaport in the region (Mombasa) serving many land-locked countries, and its capital Nairobi is one of most important aerial platforms in the region. Both have been systematically exploited by drug traffickers. Reported heroin seizures in the region do not reflect widespread and increasing availability, where heroin abuse is now a serious problem.
Addis Ababa international airport is being targeted by West African syndicates as a gateway for heroin to be brought into and through the region from Pakistan, Thailand, India and Iran. It is one of the few airports with excellent international connections, and couriers can disembark with little or no control, allowing them to hand over the heroin for transport to its onward destination.
The abuse of heroin is a serious problem in Kenya and Mauritius, and is now emerging in other countries in the region, including Ethiopia.
Cannabis and mandrax are two other commonly abused drugs. Recently, khat consumption has been increasing in popularity. Heroin and cocaine abuse is growing unabated, and is spreading from cities to rural areas.Injection of heroin and cocaine exists. Amphetamine and other designer synthetic drugs are gaining popularity, especially among youth attending disco and rave parties. Glue sniffing continues among street children.
A stratified-sample study of drug abuse in Kenya in 1997 including street children, school students, mental hospital patients, primary health care centre out-patients, Nairobi childrens' homes, and university students in Nairobi found the following: 8% abuse cannabis, 5% volatine solvents, 1% cocaine/cannabis combination, 0.6% amphetamine/cannabis or mandrax/cannabis combinations, 0.3% cocaine or amphetamine alone or heroin/amphetamine/volatile solvent combination or mandrax/amphetamine and cannabis combination.Anti-histamine drugs are sold by street vendors and are heavily misused to alleviate stress and induce sleep.
Half of those abusers are between the age of 10 to 19 years.The progression of drug abuse usually starts with volatile solvents around 9 years of age, followed by cannabis.By the time they reach 10 to 15 years of age, in addition to volatile solvents and cannabis, they add a cocaine/cannabis combination.Some venture into mandrax, amphetamines and heroin.In the 16 to 20 age group, cannabis, mandrax/cannabis combination and amphetamines are the drugs of choice.By the time they reach the 21 to 25 age group, most use cannabis, followed by amphetamine/cannabis combination.
In the 26 to 30 age group, the majority still use cannabis, while the remainder chose cocaine.Over 60% of drug abusers were found in urban areas, 8% in peri-urban area, 6.5% in sub-urban area and 21% in rural areas.
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