As he keenly listened to the magistrate read the 11-page judgment, Bernard Waguru Mwangi appeared defeated.
For aiding in the trafficking of a narcotic drug, the 45-year-old man will now serve 30 years in prison or pay a fine of Sh50 million.
“An aider is as guilty as the principal offender in the commission of a crime in law,” Nyahururu Resident Magistrate Lansatos Larabi ruled on Wednesday.
Mwangi’s facial expression betrayed his hopelessness resembling a caged animal as he faced the magistrate with pleading eyes.
Throughout the trial, he remained quiet making no effort to cross-examine the five prosecution witnesses, all police officers involved in his arrest and the subsequent investigation.
He had been paid Sh5,000 by a trafficker to store a container filled with cannabis valued at Sh41 million on his property. During the trial, he did not deny that the contraband was found in his compound hidden in a container covered with old iron sheets and timber.
Conflicting accounts of how the container ended up on his property raised suspicions. Initially, Mwangi told investigators that a man had abandoned the container after paying him Sh5,000 to store it.
However, during his defence, he claimed the man had visited his farm to purchase a plot of land offering Sh5,000 as a down payment.
Mwangi’s defence was further complicated by his claim that he was at the land's office with the supposed buyer when police raided his home and discovered the drugs.
"I was not at home when the police raided and recovered the container. I was with the container owner at the Nyahururu lands office for land transfer transactions," he testified.
However, the court rejected this defence, noting that Mwangi had no documents to support his claim of a land transaction, and had failed to report the alleged trespass by the container owner to the police.
The court found Mwangi guilty of drug trafficking, sentencing him to 30 years in prison or an alternative fine of Sh50 million.
The trial, which began on July 18, 2024, charged Mwangi under Section 4(ii) of the Drugs and Psychotropic Control Amendment Act of 2022.
According to the charge sheet, Mwangi, along with others not before the court, trafficked drugs by storing 1,422,000 grams of cannabis in a container on his property in the Kigumo area of Nyahururu sub-County, Laikipia County.
Mwangi pleaded not guilty and was released on a bond of Sh1.5 million with a surety of the same amount.
When Rotich arrived at the scene, the container was locked with two padlocks, which he and other officers broke open revealing 63 sacks of cannabis.
DCI officer Maurice Muchekewho, who weighed the contraband at the police station, testified that the cannabis weighed 1,422,000 grams.
Another detective, Daniel Cheruiyoit, conducted tests on the substance at a government chemist.
"Mr Cheruiyoit subjected the exhibits to three methods of examination—screening, UV spectrophotometry, and confirmatory tests. All results confirmed the substance was cannabis sativa," the judgment noted.
Mr Cheruiyoit presented a report dated September 22, 2024, along with additional exhibits, including a certificate of sampling.
Investigating officer Frankline Mulei testified that the container had been locked with two padlocks, which were also presented as evidence.
Mr Mulei revealed that Mwangi had confessed to knowing the container's owner, Robert Mwangi Mugo, and that he had been paid Sh5,000 to store the container.
Both Mwangi and the alleged container owner disappeared after the contraband was discovered, with Mr Mulei confirming that neither man was at the property during the police raid.
In his defence, Mwangi continued to claim that the container had been placed on his land without his knowledge, insisting that it was part of a land purchase deal.
However, the court dismissed this argument as a mere denial.
“I have scrutinised the evidence presented by the prosecution witnesses. The DCI officers from Nyahururu received an intelligence report about a container hidden on a piece of land. Investigators visited the scene and found the container covered with timber and iron sheets, which were presented as exhibits. The prosecution has proved the case beyond any reasonable doubt,” said Magistrate Larabi.
"This is a clear case in which the accused person aided the trafficking of narcotics namely cannabis sativa . He is an accomplice participant or an aider in the commission of the offence of drug trafficking. An aider is as guilty as the principal offender in committing a crime in law," he ruled.
In addition to the jail sentence, the court ordered that the container in which the contraband was found be forfeited for court use as no one had claimed ownership of it.
“The use of substances has ruined many lives, especially those of the youth. In these circumstances, I hereby sentence the accused person to pay a fine of Sh50 million or, in default, serve 30 years in prison. This sentence should serve as an example and a deterrent to other members of the public involved in such vices,” said Magistrate Larabi.
