- Mahfudh did not take a plea for the charges as the prosecution and police asked for three more days to complete their investigation.
- The defence counsel said the suspect is two months expectant and the custody conditions were compromising her health.
Image: JOHN CHESOLI
A Shanzu court has granted police one more day to probe the main suspect in the Sh100 million cocaine case.
This is after police on Monday asked the court to continue holding Nuru Mahfudh.
Mahfudh, 29, was arrested on Friday for allegedly being in possession of narcotics. She was arraigned before chief magistrate Florence Macharia.
The magistrate granted detectives one more day to complete their investigation.
The suspect will be held at port police and is expected back in court on Wednesday at 2.30pm.
The woman was arrested at her home in Utange, Mombasa, by officers from the Transnational Organised Crimes and the Anti-Narcotics Units.
In addition to the 35 packages of cocaine that were found in Mahfudh's house, she was also found with two iPhones, which might be of help in the investigation, the court was told.
Anthony Musyoka, a prosecution counsel, asked the court to allow the detectives to hold the suspect in custody, to complete their investigation.
"The investigating officers believe the phones are of crucial importance in this process. They need to be taken to a cybercrime laboratory for purposes of forensic analysis.
"However, that has not been done due to time constraints. We are praying for three days that the respondent may be placed at the court police station, to ensure full cooperation with the investigating officers," Musyoka said.
In addition, two Kenyan passports were found in the suspect's house.
Mahfudh did not take a plea for the charges as the prosecution and police asked for three more days to complete their investigation.
Musyoka said drug trafficking is rampant in Mombasa and Mahfudh might help in unearthing the underworld network.
The prosecution said the interrogation, which will involve sampling and weighing of the drug consignment, will need the suspect to be there physically and to cooperate with the detectives.
If released on bond, she will jeopardise the investigation process, Musyoka said.
The prosecutor said due to the nature and context of the suspected drugs seized, it is important for the detectives to establish if the suspect is the sole distributor or if she works with other people.
The three days sought, the prosecutor said, will be enough for the detectives to unearth the possible accomplices.
Musyoka said the case is significant in the war against drug trafficking in the Coast region and needs more time to get a more informed discovery.
"It is important to note that the drug menace has been rampant in Mombasa, and therefore if the respondent cooperated with the investigating officers in this regard, it would be proper to ensure a proper finding is unearthed," he said.
It is only after that that either a decision to judge or exonerate the suspect will be ready, the prosecutor added.
Eugene Wangila, the advocate who represented the suspect in court, played down the reasons for the prosecution in seeking more days to interrogate his client.
He said holding the suspects further in custody will be a violation of her human rights.
The defence counsel accused the police of laxity in handling the interrogation, saying it was being done intentionally.
"If it is forwarding the mobile phones to Nairobi, the Mombasa-Nairobi road had not been closed during the weekend, neither were planes grounded and the SGR train was working.
"The police station was open, I have been there twice, and the officers were very busy on Saturday and Sunday," Wangila said.
In response, the prosecutor said the cybercrime laboratories function only on workdays, from Monday to Friday. The suspect was arrested on a Friday.
The advocate, in defence, said "the respondent is under no constitutional obligation to assist the DCI to do their job."
"If she has to be available when the detectives will be sampling and weighing the alleged drugs, she can do so while on bond, and as per the law. Her presence is not a must," Wangila said.
The advocate further said the respondent should be silent during the process of investigation by the detectives.
He therefore said "holding her in custody will be tantamount to saying that she will be forced to give self-incriminating evidence against the constitution."
Wangila also said the suspect is two months pregnant and the custody conditions were compromising her health.
"For the days that she has been in custody, mosquitoes have really feasted on her," he said.
The advocate said the case was politically instigated, with far-fetched reasons for arrests, adding that the prosecution will bring to court "a weak case."
"Without delving into evidence, there have been social media reports indicating that there is a political background in this case. As the defence side, we are looking forward to a very weak case that's politically instigated," he said.
The prosecutor however, objected to the assertion by the suspect's defence that the case was politically instigated.
"She is not a politician and she has not been mentioned to be one. And if that was to be the case, it is worth noting that a criminal offence is personal, whether by a politician, prosecutor, or defence counsel. There is nothing political about this," he said.
(Edited by Bilha Makokha)