The Sh1 Billion Allocation to Boost Miraa Farmers in Kenya Is Godsend but Critics Have Their Concerns The recent move to allocate Sh1billion to boost miraa farmers in Kenya is a blessing to the farmers but market for the commodity still remains a big challenge. Until recently, miraa had been deemed a rejected crop following the controversies after the international ban in the European market in 2014. The situation changed two weeks ago when President Uhuru Kenyatta signed into law, a bill categorising miraa as a cash crop. [continues 2152 words]
FURIOUS Kenyan lawmakers have submitted a parliamentary motion to seize British-owned land, if the former colonial power does not rescind its ban on multimillion-dollar exports of the "herbal high" khat, reports said yesterday. MPs from Kenya's central Meru region, the country's key khat-growing area, urged the government to consider repossessing farms occupied by British farmers. The motion read in parliament on Wednesday called for "compulsorily acquiring all land owned or acquired by the British," The Standard newspaper reported. [continues 107 words]
Four organizations at the Coast have struck a partnership deal that will see them work together to rehabilitate thousands of drug addicts in the region. The four, including Reach Out Centre, Muslims for Human Rights, Mewa Hospital and the Shariff Nassir Foundation have set aside an initial budget of Sh8 million for the programme. The budget may however increase according to the success and needs of the rehabilitation programme. There are about 60,000 addicts of various drugs at the Coast with between 300-500 new addicts annually. [continues 278 words]
Police in Kiambu are investigating a school has been accused of colluding with a clinic to steal from parents. Irene Wairimu, a parent at Gathiruini Boys Secondary School in Githunguri, said the administration sent for her and told her to take her son to a certain clinic to be tested for drugs. The deputy headteacher gave her the doctor's contacts saying they refer students suspected of abusing drugs to Freedom from Addiction Organisation in Kiambu town At the facility, Wairimu was charged Sh5,000 for the test and Sh8,000 for 10 counselling sessions. She grew suspicious when the doctor in charge, James Karuri, refused to give her the boy's results because she did not have the Sh8,000 to pay for counselling. [continues 203 words]
Like those generals who used to discover that nuclear weapons were not a good thing about twenty minutes after they took off their uniforms and started collecting their pensions, we have had a parade of former presidents who knew that the war on drugs was a bad thing - but only mentioned it after they were already ex-presidents. Now, at last, we have one who is saying it out loud while he is still in office. President Juan Manuel Santos of Colombia, the country that has suffered even more than Mexico from the drug wars, is an honest and serious man. He is also very brave, because any political leader who advocates the legalisation of narcotic drugs will become a prime target of the prohibition industry. He has chosen to do it anyway. [continues 615 words]
Delegates attending a drug abuse conference in Mombasa yesterday came face-to-face with the crisis facing addicts at the Coast General Hospital. The international and local delegates were shocked to find that the government and other agencies had failed to meet the standards for running a rehabilitation centre. They lack adequate staff, food and detoxifying medicine for the rehabilitation centre, which was started late last year. Several challenges Because of the shortcomings, the number of drug addicts seeking treatment at the centre has fallen. [continues 307 words]
Having a conversation with the former boss of the National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (Nacada), Mr Joseph Kaguthi, on the drug abuse problem in Kenya is extremely enlightening. Mr Kaguthi asserts that policymakers, civil society, and the citizenry need to arm themselves with the right information regarding substance abuse in order to assist in finding sustainable solutions. Everyone concerned should know, for instance, that substances causing the greatest harm to the youth are those that are legally available, not the illicit ones. [continues 549 words]
It took kicks, blows and a cocked AK-47 to raise a doped-up Abdallah Hassan Abdalla from a stupor and, incidentally, save his life. The scene was Mombasa's Mackinon Market. The lead actor in the story of his life was himself; the supporting cast was composed of an angry mob and regular policemen. What followed next was a beating that opened his eyes to the dangers of heroin use. He could finally break free from a 12-year addiction that revolved around three things: heroin, syringes and himself. He had tried to escape with some money he had snatched from a woman. [continues 465 words]
President's Relative Denies Police Charge After Arrest for Possession of a Single Marijuana Joint Tomorrow morning, President Barack Obama will sit down in the White House to receive his daily intelligence briefing from security officials. Thousands of miles away in Kenya, his half-brother will be facing a rather different audience in a Nairobi courtroom. George Obama, 26, was arrested yesterday for possession of marijuana, after allegedly being caught with a single joint of "bhang" near his home in a Nairobi slum. There was no suggestion that Obama was trying to deal in the drug but, according to Joshua Omokulongolo, the area police chief, rules are rules. "He is not a drug peddler," said Omokulongolo, "But it's illegal, it's a banned substance." [continues 507 words]
There have been press reports that the authorities at Vigilance House may have "downgraded" the Anti-Narcotics Unit, the team that is assigned the task of fighting drug syndicates and arresting and prosecuting the masterminds. The unit is normally headed by a top police officer, sometimes in the rank of senior assistant commissioner of police, which to some extent signals to the public the seriousness with which the force is taking the fight against drugs. The police spokesman has told the Sunday Nation that the unit is merely being reorganised and will come out stronger. Whatever the case, it would be unwise not to have a strong anti-narcotics team given the disturbing drugs situation in the country. [continues 492 words]
Drug abuse, absence of role models in society and failure by leaders to embrace dialogue when handling disputes have been cited as factors contributing to indiscipline in schools. A parliamentary committee investigating the recent wave of unrest in secondary schools was told that the abuse of drugs and other substances among students was rampant. The parliamentary committee chaired by Mosop MP David Koech was receiving views from Western Province at Kakamega High School. Fifteen schools in the province were affected by the unrest. [continues 256 words]
The fight against drugs is top on the list of the school safety standards manual released on Tuesday by the Ministry of Education. The stance taken seems to hinge on student involvement, through sharing of experiences with regard to occurrences in their neighbourhoods. "Learners should discuss and suggest ways that can contribute to creating a drug-free school environment," the manual says. It notes the role played by kiosks and small businesses located near schools and recommends "close monitoring of the activities with a view of taking any necessary remedial intervention". [continues 236 words]
A group of idlers were smoking their marijuana in a Kampala slum market the other day. The use of narcotic drugs is a serious offence though the penalties prescribed in the penal code are outdated and no longer deterrent enough. So the police organised to go and arrest them so they would at least spend a few weeks in the cooler. You would have expected this to be a fairly simple operation. The police shows up in uniform, grab some three chaps while two manage to escape and life continues. [continues 681 words]
Parliament must move with haste to enact the pending Anti-Narcotics Bill to save Kenya's youths from being ensnared by drug barons. Reports that Kenya is increasingly becoming a popular transit route for drugs is quite alarming. But this is not news. The country became popular with these merchants of death two decades ago due to its lax anti-narcotics laws. What is most distressing is the revelation that drug abuse in Kenya has increased by one percentage point in the last one year. But even more alarming is that a greater number of Kenyans, especially women, are being used as mules by West African drug lords. This could mean a few things. [continues 149 words]
A cabinet minister has advised Kenyans against engaging in drug abuse and trafficking. Prof George Saitoti, the Minister of State for Provincial Administration and Internal Security, warned on Saturday that the practice could jeopardise the country's efforts to attain both the UN's Millennium Development Goals and the Vision 2030. "Compounded by increasing HIV/Aids prevalence, poverty and insecurity, drug abuse could reverse any gains made in improving social, economic and political fronts," Prof Saitoti said in a speech read by assistant minister Orwa Ojode during the International Day Against Drug Abuse and Illicit Trafficking held at the National Youth Service College in Gilgil. [continues 271 words]
The world seems to be losing the battle against the production, trafficking and use of illicit drugs, a UN report has warned. The 2008 World Drug Report, released on Thursday in Nairobi, indicates that an upsurge in supply and the development of new trafficking routes, mostly through Africa, could eventually strengthen drug demand in developed countries. This, it adds, will see the creation of new markets for some of the world's deadliest substances. The report by the UN Office on Drugs and Crime shows that Kenya is one of the five countries globally that have registered an increase in the use of heroin. [continues 129 words]
The Government should create laws that bar judges from releasing drug traffickers on bond, Council of Imams and Preachers Secretary-General Sheikh Mohammed Dor said Sunday. Sheikh Dor, also an ODM nominated MP, called on his colleagues to pass such a Bill when brought to parliament to curb the influx of narcotics into the country. "Fining these millionaires a few thousands then setting them free is not enough. The Government should put them in custody with no bond and seize their property so as to bind their transactions and make it a lesson to other traffickers," he said. [continues 83 words]
When investigating the multi-billion shilling narcotics business in Coast Province, one is met with authorities' conspiracy of silence. There is a lot of suspicion and fear as some people warn that the probe is a dangerous affair. Kenya is an important transit route for Southwest Asian hashish and heroin dealers. Europe is the primary market and North America the secondary destination. Eastern Africa representative of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime, Mr Carsten Hyttel, once remarked that South American traffickers had moved into Kenya. [continues 1277 words]
Two Kenyan students who had been held in Malaysia on drug trafficking allegations have been released. Former Gem Member of Parliament Mr Joe Donde told journalists that his daughter, Deborah Donde, and her friend, Emily Gathoni, were released after tests for marijuana turned negative. The two had been arrested at the house of a Saudi Arabian friend, in which four kilogrammes of marijuana were found. On Monday, Foreign Affairs minister Raphael Tuju said the two students had tested positive for marijuana and were facing the death penalty if found guilty. [continues 87 words]
One of the two Kenyan students arrested in connection with drug trafficking in Malasyia is the daughter of former Gem MP, Mr Joe Donde. A Malaysian newspaper, New Straits Times, on Wednesday reported that all the four students had tested positive for marijuana. A distraught Donde called The Standard on Thursday to break the news that his daughter, Deborah, was one of the two students in police cells in Kuala Lumpur. "I have been in trauma since we were informed that she had been arrested over the allegations," he said. [continues 541 words]
"The Whole Family Is Devastated With The Unfolding Events" ONE of the two Kenyan female students facing death sentence if convicted for drug trafficking offences is a daughter of former Gem MP Joe Donde. But last evening, a distraught Donde maintained her daughter's innocence and insisted that she could be a victim of circumstances. Mr. Donde, whose daughter Deborah, a second year Architecture student in a Kualar Lumpur university to be charged with trafficking in large quantities of marijuana, claimed that she and two other colleagues had only gone visiting a fellow Saudi student south of the capital when police came calling in the house and seized the four kilogram marijuana haul. [continues 566 words]
An increasing number of Kenyans are being used as couriers for international drug syndicates which have found a ready market in Europe and the US. Most of the Kenyan mules - couriers who hide the drug on themselves or their luggage, or even ingest it - have been arrested trying to smuggle in heroin instead of the more expensive cocaine. Cocaine has a much higher value than heroin in the local and international markets. A kilo of cocaine fetches Sh5 million, while that of heroin goes for Sh1.5 million. Couriers who have been arrested include models, airline stewards and stewardesses and business people who fall prey to the high returns they are guaranteed if they deliver the consignments. [continues 493 words]
On my last trip out, I bumped into someone involved in the trafficking of narcotics; and received a priceless education. Forget media reports of suspects being placed under observation at airports to expel 'pellets of drugs they had swallowed'. First, the 'body couriers' do not swallow the pellets. They are not even pellets. They are crudely assembled packages the size of half a sausage. One would choke swallowing one of these containers; so the dealers adopt a more ingenious mode: the packages are introduced up the courier's nether regions. [continues 897 words]
The destruction of the cocaine haul at the weekend has allayed fears that the dangerous drug may have been stolen and sold. But the identity of the drug lords responsible for smuggling it is still a mystery. It is also unclear if they had smuggled other shipments in the past. Whatever the case, and judging from the amounts involved - well over one tonne worth billions of shillings - it is possible that the smugglers may have been in business long before the cache was discovered. [continues 226 words]
Nairobi - International experts who assisted in the destruction of the Sh6.4 billion cocaine haul had permission from the Attorney-General to carry away samples for further testing. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Keriako Tobiko, explained yesterday that the experts had met the AG who accepted their request to take away the samples. Tobiko said there was nothing wrong with the experts taking the samples as the process had been cleared from initial stage. "There is nothing wrong with the experts going with the samples because they want to do further analysis," he said. [continues 322 words]
Nairobi One of my all-time favourite writers, H.G Wells, caused panic in New York in the late thirties when he went live on radio with his science fiction play. Steven Spielberg and Tom Cruise did a movie-rendition of it, in the War of the Worlds. It was about a Martian attack of planet Earth. Wells' piece was quite convincing, with a radio commentator giving a running commentary on the landing of the aliens. He "followed" the Martians and reported their destructive progress into New York and its suburbs. [continues 363 words]
Judicial history was made when a court held a session that lasted fifteen straight hours to oversee the cocaine haul destruction at the Kenya Medical Research Institute of the largest drug haul ever seized in Africa. The destruction was certified complete by Nairobi Chief magistrate Aggrey Muchelule on Friday at 11.30pm. It was a scientific process done through incinerators that reduced the drug to harmless smoke and impotent ash. Mr Muchelule was accompanied by police chief, Maj-Gen Hussein Ali, his principal deputy Lawrence Mwadime, CID director Joseph Kamau and the GSU commandant Mathew Iteere. [continues 1219 words]
Nairobi - The Government has published new laws to deal with narcotics ahead of the destruction of the Sh6.4 billion cocaine haul seized last year. The laws, in the latest Gazette notice, give the attorney-general's office the power to destroy seized drugs, including the cocaine, scheduled to be destroyed next week following a court order. New guidelines AG Amos Wako, who is the Government's chief adviser, published the new guidelines, which also provide for a penalty for those charged with drug-related offences. [continues 171 words]
Kenya is increasingly becoming a transit point for international drug traffickers. The country, a new report on narcotics says, is being used to send drugs to South America and Europe. The International Narcotics Control Board says in its 2005 report that, the East African region had become the fallback for drug dealers following increased controls on the traditional routes of the Netherlands and Spain. The annual report was released yesterday in Nairobi. The warning followed the discovery of cocaine worth Sh6.4 billion in Malindi and Nairobi in 2004. [continues 211 words]
Nairobi - The Government is under unprecedented pressure from the international community over the handling of the twin cocaine seizures - one worth Sh6.4b and another worth Sh1.1b - by police in December 2004. The international community is demanding from the seemingly reluctant Kenyan authorities that the drugs, according to one diplomatic source, be tested, weighed and disposed in accordance with the international standards. The pressure from the representatives of the various foreign missions in Nairobi and the relevant agencies of the United Nations, diplomatic sources say, are still being exerted through quiet diplomacy. [continues 925 words]
The handling of illicit drugs dropped last month compared to July. A police report says there were 559 cases last month compared to 732 in July compared to 569 in June. There were 449 and 475 drug cases reported in May and April respectively. And Police Commissioner Maj Gen Hussein Ali said his men were ahead of the drug barons. Ali commended the Anti-Narcotics Unit, which he said was one step ahead of the issues. Comparatively, there were 5,300 cases in 2001, 4,467 in 2002, 4,742 in 2003 and 4,627 last year. The most handled drug was marijuana followed by madrax, heroine and cocaine. [continues 181 words]
Powerful drug barons have hatched a scheme to discredit the police in the Sh6 billion cocaine haul case, the Director of Public Prosecutions said yesterday. Mr Keriako Tobiko said the barons were using politicians to try and divert the public's attention from the case. Speaking after opening a refresher course for 20 public prosecutors in Nairobi, the DPP said a statement by police commissioner Hussein Ali on Sunday to the effect that the haul was intact should end the debate. [continues 535 words]
Some 330 Tanzanians are languishing in various jails worldwide for drug trafficking as the country appears unable to stem drug-related offences. Over the past two years, at least 60 Tanzanians were arrested in foreign countries - including neighbouring Kenya and Uganda - for handling narcotic substances, with marijuana topping the list of most peddled drugs. Tanzania is the second largest marijuana producer in Africa, after South Africa. National Commission for Control of Illicit Drugs and Narcotics head Christopher Shekiondo said efforts to clamp down on the production, trafficking and consumption of marijuana had failed to contain the outlawed trade. [continues 499 words]
Tanzania will review its anti-drug laws to impose heavy penalties for traffickers and users. Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office William Lukuvi says the current anti-narcotics laws, enacted in 1995, have proved inadequate as they have too many shortcomings, including giving offenders the option of fines. "The current law does not establish a basis for asset forfeiture; it does not or even criminalise drug money," said Mr Lukuvi. Anti-Narcotics Commissioner Chistopher Shekiondo also says the current law need to be amended. "The Act has a number of shortcomings, especially a section which gives offenders the option of walking away after paying a fine," he said. Some of the drug traffickers are wealthy people, he added. Mr Shekiondo said weaknesses in the laws had encouraged the use and trade in narcotics instead of deterring it. [continues 228 words]
Nairobi The United Nations has set aside about Sh76 million this year for the fight against drug abuse in Kenya. Drug abuse and HIV/Aids African adviser Reychad Abdool said in Nakuru yesterday that part of the money was released in January under the Strategy Framework Programme. Recent UN research carried out in Nakuru district, Dr Abdool said, had shown a steady rise in the use of heroine, especially by the youth. He said many abusers in Africa were contracting HIV, the Aids-causing virus, because of sharing syringes with infected people. [continues 52 words]
Police have unearthed a syndicate in which prison warders collude with remand prisoners to smuggle narcotic drugs into the jails. Six people, including two prison warders, were arrested and five kilogrammes of bhang that was being ferried into the prison seized. The suspects had intended to smuggle the bhang into Nairobi's Industrial Area prison aboard prison trucks on Friday. The suspects are being held at Kilimani and Kileleshwa police stations and are likely to be charged in court next week. [continues 278 words]
Police were last evening seeking statements from top managers of the Kenya Ports Authority in connection with the Sh6.3 billion cocaine haul. The team flew back to Mombasa as more details of how the haul arrived and was cleared emerged. Police said they needed to interrogate top officers at the port to get more information on how the consignment was cleared. Sources close to the ongoing investigations revealed that some of the arrested port officials had implicated some top officials who the team went back to question. [continues 225 words]
Mr John Harun Mwau wants the High Court to permanently bar the media from publishing reports linking him to drug trafficking. And in four suits he filed on Friday, Mwau levels serious allegations against senior executives and editors of Kenya's leading media houses. He claims the media houses, their executives and editors, are diverting attention from the real drug barons. He accuses the media of diverting attention and truth from the general public by creating "falsehood and mirage." Mwau's claims are contained in the suits he has filed seeking orders to permanently restrain the media from publishing, broadcasting and printing allegedly libellous material against him. [continues 573 words]
Police have arrested five officers at the port of Mombasa in connection with the Sh6.3 billion cocaine haul recently seized in Malindi and Nairobi. The five, who include customs officials and a clearing agent, were involved in the clearing of the consignment that had the haul at the port. And police indicated last evening that the officials were to be flown to Nairobi for further interrogation. The officials oversaw the clearing of the containers at the port before it was shifted to an inland container depot in Athi River. [continues 371 words]
Nairobi The house of a Cabinet minister has been searched by detectives investigating the Sh6.3 billion cocaine haul, police sources claimed yesterday. The sources said the upcountry house was searched after detectives found the registration number of the land on which it is built among documents on transactions done by Central Valley Supplies Limited. The firm, owned by David Mugo Kiragu, Davis Alexander Gachago and George Stanley Wango - all who have been charged with trafficking in cocaine - imported the motorboat in which the drugs were allegedly found in Malindi. [continues 660 words]
NAIROBI -- The police are ill-equipped to fight drug trafficking, the Government has said. National Security minister Chris Murungaru said the police could not effectively fight the menace without proper equipment. Dr Murungaru admitted that the force did not have the capacity to fight the multi-billion drug industry barons who had found transit points for the illegal consignments through the country. He, however, said despite the handicap, the police were trying to block all entry points. Murungaru said the recent seizure of Sh5 billion worth of cocaine suspected to have being on transit was a plus to the force, adding that some suspects had been arrested. [continues 328 words]
Nairobi -- The National Agency for the Campaign Against Drug Abuse (Nacada) wants landlords to draw up agreements with tenants on the type of business the latter conduct in the rented premises. Nacada national co-ordinator Mr Joseph Kaguthi warned that if the landlords failed to do so, they risked forfeiting their buildings if they were found to be used as stores for narcotic drugs. "The Narcotic and Psychotropic Substances Act of 1994 provides for seizure and forfeiture to the State of premises in which narcotics are stored," he said. [continues 227 words]
Police in Koibatek have netted bhang with a street value of Sh6.6 million and arrested five suspects in connection with the haul. The over 600 stones was recovered in a bus from Kitale destined for Nairobi. Police also netted an additional 103 stones from three different buses along the Eldoret-Nakuru highway. A driver, his conductor and three passengers are being held at the Eldama Ravine police station and are assisting police in the investigation. Koibatek OCPD Golicha Roba displayed suitcases, a steel box and other bags outside the police station, which were being used to transport the illegal drug. [continues 84 words]
Nairobi Police probing the Sh5 billion cocaine haul seized last Tuesday in a godown on the outskirts of Nairobi and in a Malindi villa have been battling pressure from politicians and businessmen intent on interfering with investigations. The Director of Public Prosecutions, Mr Philip Murgor, says the question is whether there is a "Mr Big" involved and if he is getting protection from senior figures in government or the security apparatus. Speaking to the Sunday Nation on Friday afternoon, Mr Murgor said it was still too early to tell if there was a local central player in the whole scheme. [continues 1055 words]
Nairobi Back to 1990, the year the incredible happened to the cool, serene and beautiful beaches of Malindi. The event rocked the peace of the coastal town. A young Italian man sauntered along the sandy beaches kicking and picking sand. A can of beer in his hand, he whistled his favourite tune. After a few days stay in Kenya, he had learnt to say jambo and exchange niceties with the locals. But he loved his beer most. One day, in the dead of the night, the local police and anti-narcotic squad raided a dingy joint. They seized a number of drug dealers, commercial sex workers and idlers. [continues 813 words]
Nairobi Kenyan police could be on the verge of making a series of sensational arrests in the next few days after clues emerged linking several prominent personalities to the continent's biggest illicit drug haul. A relative of a long-serving head of one of the country's key security agencies who retired in the 1990s and a son to a former Treasury Permanent Secretary lead a list of prominent society figures linked to the multi-billion shilling cocaine haul. Police are also on the trail of a major city hotelier with links to a former power broker in the Kanu regime, impeccable sources close to the investigation told The Sunday Standard. [continues 674 words]
Involvement of security officers and politically connected individuals in trafficking is defeating the war against illicit drugs. One of the notorious latter day drug traffickers who enjoyed protection from some police officers is a Camerounian only known as "Mr President". To this day, the whereabouts of "Mr President" remain unknown. According to some sources, "Mr President" had moved to Dubai, but came back to Kenya confident that he was safe because of his connections to powerful politicians. Police had established that the group recruited young and naive girls to ferry drugs from Asia to Kenya and then onwards to Europe and the US. [continues 573 words]
The seizure of a cocaine haul worth more than Sh5 billion in Kenya brings into question the policing of the country's coastline. The coastline, dotted with scores of small islands, is said to be a haven for smugglers, particularly, drug-traffickers. Two major drug hauls worth billions of shillings were seized at the coast in 1998 and 2000. In a report, the United Nations has singled out the port of Mombasa as a major drug-trafficking point on the continent. [continues 324 words]
Routes used by international drug traffickers, with Kenya as a transit point. Eight people were arrested yesterday over the Sh5 billion cocaine haul, as police investigated a possible link with the Mafia. Three of them - two Italians and a Kenyan - were seized in Malindi while a fourth key suspect, another Kenyan, was held in Nairobi. Four others including one Kenyan were arrested in Holland, as the worldwide crackdown on the drug smugglers continued. The eight are believed to belong to a drugs cartel with agents as far as Colombia and Venezuala in South America, and in Holland and the UK in Europe, as well as in Kenya. [continues 1050 words]
Detectives who seized cocaine valued at Sh5 billion in Nairobi and Malindi yesterday arrested two more suspects and raided a container depot in Athi River . The arrests came as it emerged that the drug barons behind the huge consignment of hard drugs - the largest ever found in Africa - fled after being tipped off that a raid was imminent. The two arrests bring to 10 the number of people being held in connection with the drugs bust, at a godown in Embakasi and at their headquarters in Rocky House, Malindi. [continues 785 words]
Inside Kenya
