Mombasa Baron’s Widow Fined Ksh825 Million After Drug Trade

The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) has achieved a milestone in a case involving the widow of a notorious drug baron based in Mombasa who was handed 40 years jail term and asked to pay a fine of Ksh825 million.
This is after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) presented the court with overwhelming evidence proving that the woman Fatuma Ahmed Ali and her late husband Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed were dealing in prohibited drugs worth Ksh275 million. 
Following the evidence the prosecution team provided, the woman was slapped with a 40-year sentence in a judgment prepared by Principal Magistrate Martin Rabera and delivered by Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate David Odhiambo.
The accused was jointly charged with her late husband, notorious drug baron Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed alias Kandereni, who was convicted of trafficking heroin worth Ksh275 million.

File image of a gavel on the bench in the courtroom

File

The prosecution team led by Senior Counsel Barbara Sombo, told the court that on September 20, 2018, at Kikambala Housing Estate in Kilifi County, the two accused, with others not before the court, were engaged in trafficking narcotics, specifically heroin weighing 91,738 grams. It was estimated that if the drugs had reached the market, it would have ruined 91,000 lives if sold in 1 gram package.
As proof of the charges against the accused, the prosecution presented the drugs in two brown suitcases and a gunny bag stored within a residential house. 
According to the laws of the land, the storing of narcotics was in direct contravention of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act. 
The second accused faced a second charge of trafficking in psychotropic substances. However, the court dropped charges against him after he died under mysterious circumstances before the trial could be concluded.
The co-accused body was discovered at Kiruwitu near Vipingo in Kilifi, nine days after he was reported missing. Prior to his death, the court had placed him on his defence after the prosecution established a prima facie case against him. 
Principal Magistrate Martin Rabera in his verdict noted that the prosecution had provided compelling evidence, including testimonies from officers who had conducted the raid at the accused’s residence warranting the sentence.
“There is no evidential gap to suggest that the exhibits were tampered with or planted, having reviewed and analysed all the evidence, I find the charges against the accused proven beyond a reasonable doubt. The accused is hereby convicted as charged,” Magistrate Rabera ruled.
The officers further gave a graphic account of how the exhibits were recovered in the presence of the public, with no indication that the items were planted, which convinced the court to hand out the ruling.

Sachets of heroine nabbed in Mombasa by DCI sleuths on April 17, 2024

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DCI Kenya