Seven sailors, among them Pakistanis, who were found guilty of trafficking heroin worth Sh1.3 billion have been sentenced to life imprisonment.
Mombasa chief magistrate Martha Mutuku further fined the sailors Sh3.9 billion, thrice the value of the heroin they trafficked, and in default to paying the fine they shall serve one year in prison.
The accused are Yousuf Yakoob, Yakoob Ibrahim, Saleem Muhammad, Bhatti Abdul Ghafour, Baksh Moula, Pak Abdolghaffer and Muhammed Saleh.
The magistrate said that even as the court sympathized with the accused considering that some of them are elderly and sickly, a custodial sentence was appropriate.
“The court appreciates the accused are of good behavior and have been in custody since 2014, however, the quantity of the drugs cannot be overemphasized,” said Ms Mutuku.
In sentencing the accused, the court also considered the transnational nature of the offence (cutting across different countries), the rampant drug abuse problem among the youth in the country and the quantity involved.
The accused jointly with others, not before the court were found trafficking by conveying in the cargo deck of ship Amin Darya also known as Al Noor 377.2 kilograms of granular heroin, 33,200 litres of liquid heroin and 2400 litres of diesel mixed with heroin
They committed the offence on diverse dates between July 2 and 18 2014 at Kilindini port berth number 8 within Mombasa County.
In her judgement, Ms Mutuku ruled that the accused were culpable of the offence.
Ms Mutuku said that the accused who were crew members of a ship, Amin Darya also known as Al Noor, failed to exonerate themselves from the offence and did not state who had sent them.
“I find the accused guilty of the charge and are convicted,” said Ms Mutuku who noted that the country had jurisdiction to try the accused who were arrested on the high seas.
She further noted that the destruction of the vessel through an executive order did not in any way affect the case since investigators collected and preserved evidence that was satisfactory for the court to convict the accused.
The vessel was blown up in the high seas 33km from the port of Mombasa and sunk to a depth of 329 metres as a sign of the government’s tough stand against drug trafficking.
Former President Uhuru Kenyatta supervised the blowing up of the ship and its contents aboard a military helicopter.
The magistrate said that it had been proved that drugs were found in the vessel and that prosecution witnesses told the court and demonstrated that the search mission and recovery took a lot of time because they were concealed.
“This was supported by the accused who said that they saw police office retrieve some substance, I see no reason why the drugs would be planted by security agencies,” said Ms Mutuku.
She further noted that the prosecution demonstrated how the drugs were seized, tested and how they were handled and that there was proper documentation of the scene through photographs that were produced in court.
The seven foreigners, the court noted, had admitted that they were crew of the vessel and had been contracted to transport white cement to Zanzibar and were never destined to Mombasa.
Three Kenyans who had been charged alongside the foreigners were acquitted for lack of sufficient evidence against them.
The Director of Public Prosecutions had urged the court to impose a custodial sentence and a fine against the seven sailors.
Through senior assistant DPP Alexander Muteti, the prosecution had urged the court to pass a sentence on the accused which would powerfully communicate the state’s intention to wipe out drug trafficking in the country.
Mr Muteti also urged the court to take notice of the rampant drug abuse within the coastal region saying the effect of the supply of drugs in the country has been monumental with the potential of destroying a generation hence the need for a deterrent sentence.
Through lawyer Sharon Maiga, the accused had urged the court to give them a lenient sentence saying they are remorseful and would want to be reunited with their families.
Ms Maiga urged the court to exercise humanity and consciousness in sentencing the accused arguing that all the accused are aged 60 years and above thus subjecting them to a long jail term could amount to slow death.
The defence lawyer said that the accused are first-time offenders with no previous criminal records against them.
She further told the court that the accused have been in custody since 2014 and have always been attending court and are of good character.
