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Auntie Jemimah reveals her untold battle with drug addiction as a teenager
18th November, 2025 08:05 PM
Popular media personality and stand-up comedian Mercy Wangari Nguri, famously known as Auntie Jemimah, has opened up about a dark chapter of her life.
Speaking candidly with Chris the Bass, the former radio host shared her secret struggle with drug addiction while still in high school.
She recalled how her dependence on drugs started when she was a teenager. Jemimah explained that every Sunday, students were allowed to leave the school compound for a few hours before returning later in the day.
The freedom made it easy for her to access drugs since the school was located in the ghetto.
“I was in high school when I started doing drugs. The school, every Sunday, would allow us to go outside the compound and then come back later,” Auntie Jemimah opened up.
“Iko kwa ghetto mahali inaitwa Kibagare past Loresho.”
However, the final week before exams brought a sudden change. Students were not allowed to leave school as they prepared for the upcoming tests.
“But the last week before exams, we were not allowed off. You would have to study for your exams, and in any case, you are closing in a week,” she added.
Self-harm
For Jemimah, this meant her supply was cut off, as she had already used up the drugs she had hidden, and the withdrawal symptoms hit her hard.
She said she felt she needed to find a way to get permission to leave the school and get her dose. What followed was a shocking act of self-harm.
“So I exhausted the drugs that I had, and the withdrawals are very strong, so I need to do something for them to allow me to go out of the school compound to get my dose.”
“I pierced my breast ndio ni bleed juu nilijua ataona ni serious, but teachers see and always know she asked me, ‘Have you tampered with your breast?’ and she told me Please go and never come back here,'” she said.
Turning point
After being expelled from school and refusing admission to two different rehabilitation centres, she eventually agreed to seek help at a third facility.
She added that she was admitted for 90 days, returned to high school after completing the programme, and has never abused drugs since.
“My biggest lesson was when you are at the rock bottom, the biggest place is up, and sometimes you need to learn from people’s mistakes because you might not live long enough to make the same mistakes,” Auntie Jemimah revealed.
“For me to accept to go to rehab, I had gone to three rehabs and the third one because the third rehab the counselling was done by other addicts, they gave me there stories, I went home, reflected and told my mother ‘I want to go to that rehab’ that is how I was admitted I did 90 days and went back to highschool and never looked back.”
Drug abuse
Speaking in a previous interview with the Iko Nini podcast, the stand-up comedian disclosed that she started using marijuana, then drinking ganja juice, and eventually she abused prescription drugs like Mandrax, which gave her an instant high.
“I started experimenting with marijuana, first smoking, then drinking the ganja juice,” she revealed.
