NAIROBI, Kenya Jan 11 – Joyce Akinyi Ochieng, a convicted drug trafficker, has been sentenced to 25 years in prison by the Chief Magistrate’s Court at Jomo Kenyatta International Airport.
The court found her guilty of heroin trafficking valued at Sh5.6 million, concluding a protracted legal battle that began in 2019.
The case originated in July 2019, when Anti-Narcotics Officers from the Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) raided the Deep West Resort in Lang’ata, Nairobi County. Acting on a tip-off, the officers uncovered 1882.86 grams of heroin concealed in a shoe rack, along with a weighing scale and other incriminating items in a room rented by Akinyi.
Two accomplices, Paulin Musankishay Kalala and Peres Anyango Omondi, were also arrested during the operation. The seized heroin was analyzed and valued at Sh5,648,580 under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act.
On August 8, 2019, the suspects were arraigned. Akinyi and Omondi pleaded not guilty and were released on bond, while Kalala was denied bail and remanded at Industrial Area GK prison.
In 2020, the High Court ordered Akinyi to forfeit two luxury vehicles worth Sh20 million to the state, deeming them proceeds of crime.
The trial, which spanned five years, involved testimony from 12 prosecution witnesses who detailed the suspects’ roles in a transnational drug trafficking operation. Omondi absconded before the trial concluded, leaving her case to proceed in absentia.
In the final judgment delivered by Honorable Njeri Thuku, Akinyi was convicted of narcotics trafficking, receiving a 25-year prison sentence and a fine of Sh9,018,000. Kalala was sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined the same amount.
Omondi, who remains at large, was sentenced to 25 years for her involvement in the drug operation. A warrant for her arrest has been issued, and her sentence will be enforced upon her capture.
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