A 55-year-old woman from Busia, identified as Mwaura Mumbi, sentenced for 50 years for Narcotic trafficking or an alternative fine of Ksh.50 million after being convicted of peddling 3.9 kilograms of heroin.
Mumbi stood before a Busia court on Tuesday, where the verdict was pronounced. The Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (ODPP) confirmed her conviction, stating that the prosecution had established an airtight case against her by presenting ten witnesses and substantial evidence.
“The accused was found culpable of trafficking narcotic substances, contravening Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Act No.4 of 2022,” the ODPP declared.
Authorities reported that Mumbi was apprehended on 10th March 2023 at Busia One Border Point while in possession of heroin weighing 3.9 kilograms, with an estimated street value of Ksh.11,808,000.
Her conviction follows a similar high-profile case where Fatuma Ahmed Ali was sentenced to 40 years in prison and fined Ksh.825,642,000 for drug trafficking. Ali had been charged alongside her now-deceased husband, Swaleh Yusuf Ahmed—also known as Kandereni—who passed away before the legal proceedings reached a conclusion.
According to the prosecution, the couple was intercepted by law enforcement in 2018, when they were found in possession of heroin worth Ksh.275 million.
A former trafficker, speaking anonymously to ENACT in 2024, divulged that drug smuggling remains an immensely lucrative venture. He detailed how one kilogram of shash fetches US$13 at its origin, increasing exponentially along the trade route—US$47 in Moyale, US$100 in Isiolo, US$200 in Nairobi, and ultimately US$470 in Mombasa. Local distributors are known to manufacture hundreds of smaller packages from a single kilogram, netting profits as high as US$167 per kilogram in Isiolo. Given the high returns, many smugglers willingly gamble with law enforcement risks.
ENACTAfrica further reported that despite the rampant use of cannabis and kete (a diluted form of heroin) in Isiolo, County Police Commander Hassan Barua lamented the inadequate response from local authorities, community leaders, and religious institutions in tackling the intertwined crises of narcotics and human trafficking.
