By Andrew Kariuki

The High Court at Makadara has dismissed appeals filed by two men convicted of trafficking 161.75 kilograms of cannabis valued at approximately Ksh 4.8 million along the Nairobi–Nakuru highway, upholding both their convictions and sentences.

In a judgment delivered on May 5, 2026, Justice J Wakiaga found that the prosecution had proved beyond reasonable doubt that Daniel Gor John and Hussein Otita Wakha Yanga were involved in trafficking narcotic drugs using a white Toyota Passo registration number KCS 679P.

The two had been convicted by the JKIA Chief Magistrate’s Court and sentenced to 24 years imprisonment together with a fine of Ksh 50 million each after being found guilty of trafficking cannabis contrary to Section 4(a) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.

According to court records, police officers acting on intelligence mounted an operation along the Nairobi-Nakuru highway after receiving information that a vehicle suspected of transporting narcotics was heading toward Nairobi.

The court heard that officers created what the judge described as an “artificial traffic jam” to inspect vehicles before the suspect vehicle allegedly made a sudden U-turn and attempted to flee toward Nakuru.

Police testified that two occupants abandoned the vehicle and ran away before they were later arrested and returned to the scene.

During the appeal, both appellants argued that they had been mistakenly arrested and that there was insufficient evidence linking them to the narcotics recovered from the vehicle.

Daniel Gor John claimed he had travelled to the area to collect vegetables and was arrested after approaching a crowd gathered near the road.

Hussein Otita Wakha Yanga, on the other hand, told the court he had gone to assist in repairing his brother’s vehicle before being arrested by police officers.

However, Justice Wakiaga rejected the explanations given by the appellants and found that both had placed themselves at the scene of the recovery.

“I am therefore not persuaded by the appellant’s submission that they were mistakenly arrested and find and hold that they were both in the said car and therefore had the control thereof and in possession of the drugs recovered therefrom,” the judge ruled.

The court further found that prosecution witnesses had consistently testified on how the vehicle was intercepted and how the two men fled from it before being arrested.

The judgment also upheld the conviction of the first appellant on an additional charge of giving false information to a public officer after it was established that he provided an identity card number belonging to another person.

While discussing the wider fight against drug trafficking, Justice Wakiaga made a notable observation in the judgment, stating:

“Acting on the said information the police created an artificial traffic jam and started inspecting motor vehicles on the said road, leading credence to the hypothesis that if the police want to eliminate the drug trafficking, they can easily do so but it seem that this is not the case.”

The judge ultimately concluded that the convictions were safe and free from error.

“In the final analysis I find no merit on the appeals herein both on conviction and sentence which I hereby dismiss,” the court ruled.