Traders on Sh35.1m cocaine haul charge

By JAMES KARIUKI newsdesk@ke.nationmedia.com, May 17  2013 

 

In Summary

• It is alleged that the two businessmen were caught at a roadblock transporting cocaine with a street value of Sh35.1 million on the Nakuru-Nairobi highway in Naivasha on May 13.
• The prosecutor did not oppose the application to remand the two men at Central Police Station and said police would be using the documents as exhibits together with the motor vehicle impounded by the anti-narcotics drugs unit.

A Kenyan trader and his Congolese business partner were Friday charged with trafficking cocaine worth Sh35.1 million.

Mr Mohamed Noor Hussein and Congolese Mazipaka Mugabo, who have businesses in Kenya and Uganda, denied the charge when they appeared before Nakuru chief magistrate Samuel Mungai.

They were remanded in custody at Nakuru Central police station until Monday when their lawyer will apply for bail.

It is alleged that the two businessmen were caught at a roadblock transporting cocaine with a street value of Sh35.1 million on the Nakuru-Nairobi highway in Naivasha on May 13.

Friday, their lawyer, Mr Ayuka Ondieki, protested after he was handed an affidavit sworn by Chief Inspector Joseph Chesimet regarding the issue of bail saying the anti-drugs unit had raised pertinent matters on the two men’s businesses in Kenya and Uganda.

Mr Ondieki said the confiscation of his clients’ passports and other identification documents would make it difficult for them to transact business as they awaited the hearing and determination of the case.

“Mr Chesimet says the case is serious and its consequences are dire and that the accused have businesses in Kenya and Uganda. Bail is a constitutional right for my clients but serving me the affidavit in court denies me ample time to study the same and respond accordingly,” the lawyer complained.

“They cross-checked my clients’ identification documents and found them to be genuine and valid. I need time to receive instructions from them before making a bail application,” he said.
Ample information

The prosecutor did not oppose the application to remand the two men at Central Police Station and said police would be using the documents as exhibits together with the motor vehicle impounded by the anti-narcotics drugs unit.

The prosecution also said the businessmen had provided investigators with ample information on the impounded drugs and the defence would be supplied with witness statements and any other documents they intended to use in the case.