Seven foreigners sentenced to life in prison for drug trafficking on Friday described the sentence as a death penalty, while the prosecution praised the courts for taking a risk.
In a landmark case, a Mombasa magistrate’s court sentenced six elderly Pakistanis and an Iranian to life in prison for trafficking heroin worth Sh1.3 billion.
The seven convicts, aged 65 to 80, appeared stunned as Chief Magistrate Martha Mutuku delivered the sentence on Friday. The seven had petitioned with the judges for mercy last Thursday, citing their advanced age and nine years spent in prison. The US Marines detained them in June 2014.
The seven had petitioned with the judges for mercy last Thursday, citing their advanced age and nine years spent in prison. The US Marines detained them in June 2014.
According to the prosecution, there were two consignments of the drug: 33,200 liters of heroin worth Sh189 million and 377.2 kg of heroin valued at Sh1,131,672,000.
“In Kenyan jails, we have been given the death penalty. Our advanced age and nine years in prison should have been taken into account by the court, according to Saleh.
“We have been left here to die, and we haven’t seen our family in years,” he continued.
According to Senior Prosecutor Alexander Muteti, the court showed bravery by issuing the maximum punishment since it will discourage drug trafficking through Mombasa.
Mutuku also ordered the six Pakistanis and one Iranian to pay Sh3.9 billion in fines and serve one year in prison as part of their sentences.
“I thus sentence the seven accused to life in jail and order them to pay a fine equal to three times the amount of money spent on the narcotics, which exceeds Sh1.3 billion,” said Mutuku.
She said that the court placed a specific emphasis on the transnational nature of the crime and the value of the drugs, saying that the prisoners failed to clear themselves and identify the owner of the abovementioned drugs.
According to Mutuku’s assessment, the prosecution presented sufficient evidence to find the crew members guilty and did so.
The seven were employed as crew members for Armin Darya Said’s ship, which American operatives captured in the Indian Ocean in 2014 and ultimately destroyed at sea under the direction of former President Uhuru Kenyatta, despite an existing High Court order to preserve the same as a court exhibit.
The team informed the court during a prior court session that they were delivering cement from Iran to Zanzibar. The vessel’s owner, Ibrahim Haji, and the assistant captain, Yousouf Yacoub, testified in court that they had a three-month contract and would be paid after delivering the cement. Via their attorney Sharon Maiga, the seafarers requested that the Mombasa court take into account their age and the ten years they had already spent in detention when finding them guilty.
Maiga requested the court to take rehabilitation into account as an alternative to the life sentence that the prosecution had requested in mitigation. According to her, the oldest accuser is approaching 80 years old, unable to walk, and whose health is deteriorating, while the youngest is 65.
In his argument, Muteti urged the court to sentence everyone to life in prison because the crime was so terrible despite their elderly age. He advised the court to avoid relying too heavily on age because the accused knew they were old when they started trafficking the drugs.
According to him, the offenses are quite serious given the quantity of drugs found and the potential consequences if they had been placed onto the market. Khalid Mohamed, Mohamed Osman, and Maur Bwanamaka, three Kenyan shipping agents, were exonerated by Mutuku because there wasn’t enough evidence to show that they had any connection to the shipping companies or were on board the accused ship.