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Comedian Onjiri the Cricket bares his soul on his 20-year alcohol addiction, crediting his recovery to his girlfriend’s extreme surveillance and a promise to his son.

Veteran comedian Onjiri the Cricket has pulled back the curtain on his harrowing 20-year battle with alcoholism, revealing how his partner’s drastic surveillance measures became the unlikely lifeline that pulled him back from the brink of death.
In a raw and emotional interview on the Oga Obinna Show yesterday, the celebrated entertainer confessed that his addiction had spiraled so out of control that his hands would tremble uncontrollably, making it impossible to hold a glass of water. His story is a chilling reminder of the silent epidemic of functional alcoholism consuming Kenya's creative industry.
Onjiri, whose real name is Peter Gcheru, painted a picture of a man who was publicly laughing but privately dying. He began drinking in primary school, a habit that calcified into a two-decade dependency. At his nadir, he was consuming litres of cheap spirits daily, alienating his family and jeopardizing a career that had made him a household name.
"It wasn't just about having fun anymore; it was about survival," Onjiri told a stunned Obinna. "My body would shut down without the ethanol. I was a slave." He recounted heartbreaking interventions by industry peers like Jalang’o and Sandra Dacha, who warned him privately that he was "next" on the list of artists to die destitute if he didn't stop. But their words bounced off the wall of his intoxication.
Now sober for two years and five months, Onjiri is rebuilding his life brick by brick. His physical transformation is evident—the tremors are gone, replaced by a steady hand and a clearer gaze. He credits Salet’s "invasive" love and his own desperation for his survival.
"To anyone out there fighting this demon, know that rock bottom has a basement," Onjiri advised in his closing remarks. "Don't wait until you are digging that basement to ask for help. I am lucky to be alive, and I am not wasting a second chance."
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