Three Kenya Airways Staff Sentenced to 25 Years for Heroin Trafficking Worth Ksh.60 million
In her ruling, Magistrate Thuku also accused the defendants of destroying the reputations of both Kenya Airways and KAA.
The court further slapped them with fines ranging between Ksh.88 million and Ksh.90 million. Photo/Courtesy
By Thomas pkiror
In a major boost for Kenya’s war against drug trafficking, three Kenya Airways employees have been handed lengthy jail terms after being found guilty of smuggling heroin valued at over Ksh. 60 million.
On Friday, the JKIA court jailed cabin crew members Lennox Chengek Chestit and Alfric Odhiambo Otieno, together with ground staffer Kenneth Sinzore Isundu, for 25 years each. Apart from the custodial terms, the court imposed heavy fines of between Ksh.88 million and Ksh.90 million. Magistrate Njeri Thuku stated that failure to pay the fine amounts would attract an extra one-year jail term, to be served concurrently with the main jail term.
The convictions relate to two counts of narcotics trafficking. Chestit and Isundu were convicted in count one for transporting 9,845.70 grams of heroin valued at approximately Ksh.29.5 million. In the second count, Otieno and Isundu were convicted of moving 20 kilograms of heroin worth about Ksh.60 million. The magistrate ordered that Isundu’s sentences run concurrently.
All three accused had pleaded for non-custodial sentences, a request the court rejected outright. “All three sought non-custodial punishment, but the court is guided by the Community Service Orders Act. Drug trafficking offenses do not meet the criteria for such sentences,” Magistrate Thuku explained.
In her ruling, Magistrate Thuku also accused the defendants of destroying the reputations of both Kenya Airways and KAA. “The involvement of Kenya Airways employees in drug trafficking is far more harmful than they could have imagined,” she observed.
The ages of the convicts at the time of arrest were noted as: Chestit, 26; Otieno, 27; and Isundu, 45. The case has been going on for eight years to what legal analysts are now terming a landmark decision in reinforcing the country’s narcotics defences at its major international gateways.
Concerted efforts have been made by Kenya to clamp down on the trafficking of illegal substances through its airports, with authorities ensuring to remind people that serious penalties are imposed on offenders, more as a factor of deterrence and a message of zero tolerance. Lengthy prison sentences and substantial fines simply showed how the judiciary was committed to upholding the law, especially against high-profile cases involving employees in positions of trust.
The ruling sends a strong signal to other airport and airline staff that involvement in drug trafficking will attract severe sanctions, irrespective of their employment status and professional standing. With Kenya continuing to tighten security along its borders and at international entry points, cases such as this underscore the relentless threat from narcotics smuggling and the government’s determination to protect the country’s air transport sector from criminal exploitation.
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