A Mombasa court has sentenced a female drug trafficker to 40
years behind bars for trafficking heroin worth Sh275 million.
In the judgment made by principal magistrate Martin Rabera
and delivered by senior resident magistrate David Odhiambo, the court also
slapped her with Sh825, 642,000 fine.
She had been charged jointly with her late husband described
by the prosecution as a notorious drug baron.
The Prosecution led by the senior prosecution 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, trafficked
heroin weighing 91,738 grams and valued at over Sh275 million.
They concealed the drugs in two brown suitcases and a gunny
bag stored within a residential house.
This was in contravention of the Narcotic Drugs and
Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.
The woman’s husband faced
a second charge of trafficking in psychotropic substances.
However, the court dropped charges against him after he died
under mysterious circumstances.
His 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.
While making a submission on sentencing, the prosecution
counsel, Sombo, opposed the accused receiving a non-custodial sentence, which
the accused had requested through her advocate.
Sombo further urged the court to consider the weight of
narcotics seized in the accused’s house, to wit 91,735 grams, considering they would
have ruined 91,000 lives if the same were to be sold in 1 gram.
In delivering the judgment, magistrate Rabera noted that the
prosecution provided compelling evidence, including testimonies from officers
who had conducted the raid at the accused's residence.
The officers gave a detailed account of how the exhibits
were recovered in the presence of the public, with no indication that the items
were planted.
“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.
