State wants Sh275m Mombasa heroin case moved to Nairobi

The State is seeking to have the trial of a woman who is charged with trafficking heroin worth Sh275 million moved from Mombasa to Nairobi.

In its application, the prosecution cited concerns over the safety of exhibits in seeking to have the trial facing Fatuma Ahmed moved.

But defence lawyers Jared Magolo and Wycliffe Makasembo opposed the application.

At the same time, the court was told how Ms Ahmed rented an apartment where the narcotics were recovered in September 2018.

ARRESTED IN NAIROBI

The State, through its witness, claims that the woman, who was arrested in Nairobi and flown to Mombasa to face drug trafficking charges, was the tenant of house B46, where 91,738 grams of heroin was recovered.

Testifying before the court, Shahame Aziz said the accused rented the two-bedroomed house from Ms Mary Wakinyi who had purchased it from Kikambala Housing Estate Ltd in 2012.

“The property was sold to Ms Wakinyi who later rented it out to Ms Ahmed,” Mr Aziz said.

The witness said that after the property was sold, it remained unoccupied for a long time, and when the accused sought to rent a house, he linked her to Ms Wakinyi.

HOUSE TO RENT

Mr Aziz narrated that when the suspect called him sometimes in June 2018, she wanted to know if there were houses available for renting and for sale.

“I told her I had one for sale and if interested, she should visit our officer for further advice and purchase procedures. She opted to be referred to any house owner within the properties who [would be] willing to lease their houses,” he told Mombasa Senior Resident Magistrate Martin Rabera.

Mr Aziz was testifying in a case where Ms Ahmed is accused alongside Mr Swaleh Yusuff of trafficking narcotics that were recovered in an estate in Kikambala, Kilifi County last year.

NARCOTICS

The prosecution alleges that the suspects, together with others still at large, trafficked the narcotics which were concealed in a black suit case.

Mr Swaleh is further accused of trafficking cocaine worth Sh3.9 million.

They are accused of committing the offence on October 16, 2018 near Shanzu Teachers Training College along Mombasa-Malindi Road.

Mr Aziz told the court that he later linked Ms Ahmed and Ms Wakinyi and, a few days later, the latter called to thank him, saying that she had found a tenant to occupy her house.

“I have never met Ms Ahmed face to face. I was shown the suspect by our supervisor when she came to a funeral within the premises. I was about 20 meters away from her. A person had died so I came with the police to investigate the matter,” he said.

POLICE RAID

The witness said he never heard from the suspect until September 20, 2018 when Ms Wakinyi called to inform him that her house had been raided by detectives from the Anti-Narcotics Unit on suspicion that illicit drugs were inside it.

He said he rushed to the estate where he found detectives surrounding the house; some had entered into the room through the window.

“When I entered inside the room, I saw two huge briefcases and one large paper bag which the police opened and found drugs packed in smaller packages and labelled "hawk777",” he said.

The court will on June 27 deliver a ruling on the prosecution’s request to move the trial to Nairobi.