By Andrew Kariuki
The National Authority for the Campaign Against Alcohol and Drug Abuse has secured a significant conviction in a narcotics case, with a court in Wamunyu handing down a 20-year prison sentence to a woman found guilty of drug trafficking.
In the same case, a Civil Engineering student was convicted for possession of cannabis and fined Ksh100,000 or, in default, serve three years in prison.
The judgment, delivered by Senior Resident Magistrate P. E. Nabwana, follows an intelligence-led operation conducted on April 10, 2025, in the Kabaa area of Mbiuni location, where authorities had identified a suspected cannabis distribution point.
During the operation, NACADA enforcement officers arrested two suspects at a residential house believed to be used as a narcotics den. Officers recovered 20 brooms of unprocessed cannabis weighing 4.115 kilograms and valued at Ksh126,250. They also seized 87 rolls of processed cannabis weighing 90 grams, along with Ksh4,220 suspected to be proceeds of crime.
In its findings, the court held that the student had actively participated in the offence by allowing entry of the second accused, who was carrying a sack of cannabis into the house.
“The 1st accused can now not feign ignorance of what was going on in the house… She actively participated in the crime,” the magistrate ruled.
The second accused faced the more serious charge of trafficking. The court applied Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act, relying on precedent to determine that the quantity of drugs recovered pointed to trafficking.
She was fined KSh50 million or, in default, sentenced to 20 years in prison — one of the more severe penalties imposed in recent narcotics cases.
NACADA Chief Executive Officer Anthony Omerikwa welcomed the ruling, stating that it reflects growing effectiveness in enforcement and prosecution efforts.
“This sentence proves that no trafficker, no matter how deeply embedded, is beyond the reach of the law,” he said.
Authorities say the case highlights a broader shift toward stricter enforcement and tougher penalties in the fight against drug trafficking, with increased coordination between enforcement agencies and the Judiciary aimed at dismantling narcotics networks.
