Life in jail for Meru couple over bhang
The magistrate said the prosecution had proved that the two were found in possession of 103 kilogrammes of bhang worth Sh3,090,000 at their Kooje estate home.
A Meru couple has been sentenced to life imprisonment after they were found guilty of trafficking bhang worth Sh3 million.
Meru Senior Principal Magistrate Thomas Muraguri also fined James Muthiora, alias, Karinta and his wife Fridah Karimi Sh4.5 million.
The magistrate said the prosecution had proved that the two were found in possession of 103 kilogrammes of bhang worth Sh3,090,000 at their Kooje estate home.
Mr Muraguri, however, acquitted three others -Mr Timothy Kinoti Kariaci, Mr Joseph Ekeno Ekeno and Jacob Githae Mukunyu- for insufficient evidence over the November 1, 2018 incident.
The five had been arrested in a high-profile raid conducted by police led by the then Meru county commissioner Wilfred Nyagwanga.
Mr Muraguri said evidence adduced during the three-year trial placed the two at the scene of crime and it was not disputed that the bhang was in their homestead.
Should not have sustained a conviction
He said the prosecution had proved that they were trafficking in narcotic drugs contrary to Section 4 and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.
The court was also shown utensils used in connection with the preparation of narcotic drugs contrary to Section 5 and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.
Mr Muraguri, however, gave the couple 14 days within which they could appeal the sentence.
Their lawyer Kiogora Mugambi said they were dissatisfied with the judgment and declared intention to appeal the sentence, terming it harsh.
He poked holes in the evidence saying it had a lot of inconsistencies and should not have sustained a conviction.
Mr Mugambi said the witnesses, all of them police officers, had not shown the court the hole where the said bhang was recovered from, during a scene visit by the court.
“They could not even show the court where the said hole was yet they claimed to have recovered bhang there. The sentence is too harsh,” he protested.
Karinta is also facing another charge of possession of 981 kilogrammes of bhang with a street value of Sh29.43 million.
