Controversial Nairobi businesswoman Joyce Akinyi is set to spend the next 25 years in prison following her sentencing in a drug trafficking case on 9th January 2025.
This is after the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) secured a conviction against Akinyi and 2 others, namely Paulin Kalala (a Congolese national) and Peres Ochieng, the masterminds of a well-orchestrated drug trafficking scheme, at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport (JKIA) court.
In Count One, where the accused were found guilty of trafficking in narcotics, Akinyi was sentenced to 25 years imprisonment and a fine of 9,018,000, while Kalala was handed a 10-year sentence and a similar fine.
In Count Two, Peres Ochieng, who remains at large with a warrant of arrest issued against her, was handed a 25-year sentence after she was found guilty of trafficking in narcotics and also ordered to pay a fine of Ksh. 7,927,740. She will serve her sentence upon her arrest.
Further, Akinyi was found guilty of possession of a passport without a valid explanation and sentenced to 2 years in prison. She will serve the two sentences concurrently.
How it started…
The case began on July 13, 2019, when Anti-Narcotics Officers from DCI Headquarters acted on a tip-off and conducted a raid at the Deep West Resort in Lang’ata, Nairobi County.
There, they discovered a significant cache of heroin concealed within a shoe rack, alongside a weighing scale and other incriminating items found in one of Joyce Akinyi’s rented rooms. The two accomplices, Kalala and Peres, were arrested alongside her.
Under the provisions of the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Control Act, the recovered drugs were weighed and analyzed. The total heroin seized amounted to 1882.86 grams, with a street value of Sh5,648,580.
On August 8, 2019, the three suspects were brought to court for their pleas. Joyce Akinyi and Peres Anyango Omondi pleaded not guilty and were granted bond, while Paulin Kalala was denied bail and remanded at Industrial Area GK prison.
In a significant development in 2020, the High Court ordered Joyce Akinyi to surrender two luxury vehicles worth Sh20 million to the state, deeming them proceeds of crime as part of the ongoing investigation.
Throughout a protracted five-year trial, the prosecution presented compelling evidence from twelve witnesses, establishing a direct link between the defendants and a complex network of transnational drug trafficking.
