NAIROBI, Kenya – Renowned drug trafficker Joyce Akinyi Ochieng has been handed a 25-year prison sentence.
Her involvement in a heroin trafficking scheme worth about Sh5.6 million led the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) to render this decision.
Anti-narcotics officers from DCI Headquarters began the case on July 13, 2019, when they raided the Deep West Resort in Lang’ata, Nairobi County, on a tip.
In one of Akinyi’s rented rooms, they found a sizable stash of heroin hidden behind a shoe rack, as well as a weighing scale and other unidentifiable objects.
She was detained with two accomplices, Peres Anyango Omondi and Paulin Musankishay Kalala.
Weighing and analysing the collected substances was done per the Narcotics Substances and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.
The entire amount of heroin that was seized was 1882.86 grammes, which is worth Sh5,648,580 on the street.
Why Joyce Akinyi was ordered to surrender two expensive vehicles
The three suspects appeared in court to enter their pleas on August 8, 2019.
Paulin Musankishay Kalala was remanded at Industrial Area GK prison after being denied bail, while Joyce Akinyi and Peres Anyango Omondi pleaded not guilty and were given bond.
As part of the ongoing inquiry, the High Court made a crucial ruling in 2020, ordering Akinyi to surrender two expensive vehicles valued at Sh20 million to the state, deeming them proceeds of crime.
The prosecution presented compelling evidence from twelve witnesses throughout a drawn-out five-year trial to demonstrate a clear connection between the defendants and a sophisticated international drug trafficking network.
Before the trial was over, Peres Anyango Omondi went missing, so the proceedings proceeded without her.
How the JKIA Court under Njeri Thuku sentenced all three accused
Honourable Njeri Thuku delivered the sentencing in Court No. 1 at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, marking the case’s conclusion. For the first accusation of narcotics trafficking, Akinyi was sentenced to 25 years in prison and a hefty Sh9,018,000 fine. Paulin Musankishay Kalala was sentenced to ten years and a similar financial penalty.
Peres Anyango Omondi, whose current whereabouts are unknown, was also given a 25-year term for her involvement in the trafficking operation. Her sentence will be served upon her arrest, and an arrest warrant has been issued.
According to the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI):
“This historic decision is a major win in the ongoing fight against drug trafficking and serves as a sobering reminder of the serious consequences of participating in such illegal activities.”
What Joyce Akinyi told Magistrate Njeri Thuku after being sentenced
Akinyi, on the other hand, stood up to address Magistrate Njeri Thuku shortly after being sentenced to 25 years in prison and accused the police of stealing from her.
According to her, the police confiscated a 24-karat gold necklace worth Sh1 million, a bangle for Sh300,000, and earrings worth roughly Sh200,000 from her handbag.
She claimed to have put them in the bag because she was worried they might be stolen while heading to the market.
Akinyi further stated that a MacBook and a Dell laptop, both worth Sh410k, were taken by the police during their raid on her Deep West workplace.
She also mentioned that they took the storage and damaged her CCTV cameras.
The drug queen claims that she was never provided with an inventory to sign and that the police also stole two of her phones.
She said that a phone was taken from her when she was stopped by police in Busia last year while traveling to Uganda.
