A Nairobi court will on Tuesday decide whether to order the extradition of an Afghan politician wanted in the USA for alleged drug trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.
Milimani senior principal magistrate Benmark Ekhubi will decide whether to allow the application by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Renson Ingonga for the extradition of Abdul Zahir Qadir, a former Afghanistan parliamentarian.
The DPP, through principal prosecution counsel Victor Juma Owiti, had submitted that they had established that the offences the Afghani is facing are extraditable and that there are no restrictions to the extradition.
“Having established that the offences for which the fugitive criminal is sought are indeed extraditable crimes, and that there are no restrictions to the extradition, we invite this Honorable Court to issue an order for the extradition and surrender of the fugitive criminal to the USA to face the subject charges, as he shall definitely get an opportunity to defend himself before the US District Court,” Mr Owiti said in submissions filed in court.
Mr Zahir, a former deputy speaker during the previous government was arrested at a hotel in Nairobi on April 14, after allegedly traveling to Kenya for business.
He opposed the application submitting that his intended extradition was triggered by his long-standing opposition to the US ideological imposition on Afghan nationals.
“It is well documented, and the court takes judicial notice that there is no love lost between the United States of America (the US) and Afghanistan,” he said through his lawyers Ndegwa & Ndegwa Advocates.
He added that the case was a clear depiction of the tag of war at play within the geopolitical conflict between the said two countries.
“Kenya has only been selected to be one of the battle-grounds of the said war and if this matter is loosely handled, Kenya may find itself in-between the said war, or in the unlikely event, taking sides in the said war,” he said.
Mr Zahir added that the application for his extradition was flawed and is a veiled attempt to persecute him on politically motivated grounds, contrary to the laws of Kenya, constitutional safeguards, and principles of international justice.
“All the alleged offences that have been raised against the Respondent (Zahir) have all been framed to hoodwink the international community as to the true nature and the intended purpose of the arrest of the Respondent. The said charges coincide suspiciously with the Respondent’s continued advocacy for Afghan sovereignty and condemnation of foreign interference,” he said.
Mr Zahir further said the extradition request must fail for lack of sufficient and credible evidence to justify committal, as required under Section 10 of the Extradition (Contiguous and Foreign Countries) Act.
He submitted that mere assertions without evidentiary backing cannot lawfully deprive a person of their liberty or subject them to removal from Kenya.
The USA sought his arrest and surrender to face charges of Narcotics Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices.
The US District court of New York indicted Mr Zahir on March 25, 2025 to face charges on the basis of a criminal complaint filed by the DEA Special Agent.
The court then issued international warrants of arrests against the Afghani and on the basis the indictment, the Interpol similarly issued a Red Notice on April 14.
