A Sh2.6 million narcotics haul has been destroyed in an exercise spearheaded by the Lamu Law Courts.
The drugs including bhang, sachets of heroin, and cocaine were set ablaze at the Kashmir Dumping Site within Lamu Island on Friday.
Lamu Law Courts Senior Principal Magistrate Sitati Temba presided over the exercise that was carried out under tight security.
Others who witnessed the burning of narcotics include members of the Lamu Court Users Committee, religious leaders, and the media.
Addressing journalists during the exercise, Temba said they decided to destroy the narcotics publicly to send a warning to those undertaking the illegal business.
1,000 big rolls of bhang, 300 grams of cocaine, and 200 grams of heroin were all destroyed.
The drugs were recovered from suspects within Lamu and Faza Islands.
Apart from the narcotics, the Lamu judicial officials also led another exercise of burning over 10,000 old court records, to comply with Chief Justice Martha Koome’s directive to have such items discarded.
“We have carried out the exercise to burn narcotics worth Sh2.6 million today. They included bhang, heroin, and cocaine that had earlier been presented before the court as exhibits,” Temba said.
“We shall continue carrying out these drug disposal exercises from time to time as a way of discouraging drug barons and users from partaking in this illegal business.”
He reiterated that most of those seriously affected by drugs in Lamu are the youth.
He advised the youth to desist from drug abuse and instead focus on undertaking important activities, including fishing to help improve their lives.
“Most of the cases presented before the court are concerned with either drug trafficking, possession, or abuse. Almost all those involved in such cases are the youth,” he said.
“Let’s desist from drug-related offences as they attract serious penalties. Let’s be patriotic and law-abiding citizens.”
The magistrate explained that the destroyed old court records include files, books, and papers that involved criminal and traffic cases that range between the years 1990 and 2010.
“We burned the old court documents as a way of complying with CJ Martha Koome’s gazette notice issued on February 11, 2022, authorizing us to destroy such items, particularly those involving cases surrounding crime and traffic and from between the years 1990 to 2010,” he said.
Lamu Court Users Committee (CUC) member and cleric, Mohamed Abdulkadir praised the Lamu Law Court for the action to publicly destroy drugs.
He said the move will also help shape the community’s thinking and perception towards drugs.
Abdulkadir revealed that more than 3,000 youth in Lamu Old Town, Faza, Witu, and the rest of the county are hooked to drugs with the number rising with each passing day.
“It’s unfortunate that many youths have been turned into zombies due to drugs. We need to unite and fight drugs. The supply of drugs will end in this place only if we the community stop any demand,” Abdulkadir said.
He also appealed to residents to be at the frontline in the fight against drug trafficking by volunteering information to police to aid in the arrest of the traffickers, who sneak the narcotics into the county and destroy youths’ livelihoods.
In March this year, the Lamu Law Courts set ablaze narcotics and over 10,000 old court records.
In June 2022, the same court also burnt bhang worth almost Sh1 million that had been held and used as exhibits for court cases.