Dorcas Gachagua: Drug addicts are my children

By Peter Ochieng

Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua's spouse, Dorcas Gachagua wants Kenyans to stop calling drug addicts names.

Speaking in Meru county on Monday, Dorcas said they better be called her children.

"Do not call those addicted to drugs names; instead, refer to them as watoto wa Dorcas (Dorcas's children)," she said.

She spoke when she visited the first cohort of men undergoing rehabilitation, under the boy child program in the Office of the Spouse of the Deputy President (OSDP).

She encouraged the young men to remain focused in their rehabilitation journey, adding that it is a path towards a brighter future.

"I have visited the prison, drug dens, and streets, and today I am here at this rehabilitation centre to see that our young men are rescued from addictions. In life, you will see a mother sitting in court to support their child, and even visit them in prison. You are my boy children, and I will not stop loving you," Dorcas said, in a statement shared by her office.

The recovering addicts shared with her their dreams post-rehabilitation, which included serving in the Kenya Defence Forces (KDF), starting businesses, building families, seeking employment and leading lives free from drugs.

They started their rehabilitation journey in June, 2023.

Majority of them are from Mathira constituency, Nyeri county.

DP Gachagua served as area MP from 2017 to 2022.