A man in Lamu who was busted with 250 grams of bhang and ten tablets of diazepam a drug used to treat anxiety, muscle spasms, and seizures has been fined Sh 50 million or serve 10-year jail term in default.
Abdulrahman Issa was handed the sentence by the Resident Magistrate Hon. Flavian Mulama of Lamu law courts .
Issa was found guilty of trafficking cannabis sativa and storing diazepam drugs, contrary to the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act on March 12, 2026, at Tchundwa Village in Lamu East Sub-county, Lamu County.
During the arrest, police found him with a roll of partially smoked bhang, a razor blade, a metallic spoon, a transparent side plate, a broken tile, and a matchbox. According to the charge sheet, he committed the offense alongside others who are still at large.
During trial Issa denied possessing the narcotics, claiming that police recovered the exhibits from his father’s house after arresting him alongside two other men. However, he did not call either of them to testify.
In his judgment, Hon. Mulama held that the prosecution had presented consistent, credible, and corroborated evidence through the testimony of all three witnesses, establishing that the accused was found in possession of the orange bag containing the narcotics and other exhibits.
The state counsel Idris Kipruto Tomno, presented three witnesses whose evidence, together with the exhibits produced in court, proved the charge beyond reasonable doubt.
He further held that there were no material inconsistencies capable of weakening the prosecution’s case.
The court noted that the convict’s defense was a mere denial and was unsupported by any independent evidence.
He informed the court that he had been arrested alongside two other individuals but he failed to call either of them as witnesses, leaving the prosecution’s evidence on the crucial issue of possession unchallenged.
Hon. Mulama also found that the circumstances of the arrest pointed to drug trafficking rather than personal use.
He observed that the razor blade, metallic spoon, transparent side plate, and partially smoked bhang recovered alongside the narcotics were consistent with the preparation and repackaging of drugs for distribution.
The Government Chemist’s report, confirmed that the recovered substances were cannabis and diazepam, both classified as narcotic drugs under the law. the report was however not challenged by the defense.
“The prosecution’s evidence outweighs that of the defence. The charge had been proved to the required legal standard.” reads the sentencing report.
Issa was convicted under Section 215 of the Criminal Procedure Code for trafficking narcotic drugs by storing them before sentencing him to pay a fine of Sh50 million or, in default, serve 10 years’ imprisonment.
He has a right to appeal against conviction and sentence within 14 days.
