Anti-narcotic drug activists in Kilifi County have lauded an American court for sentencing Kenyan drug baron Ibrahim Akasha to a 23-year jail term.
They said the punitive sentence would hopefully deter other drug traffickers from continuing with their illicit trade in and outside Kenya.
Mr. Famau Mohamed Famau, the founder and chairman of the Malindi Maaruf Anti-Drug Organization, said drug traffickers like Akasha deserve such harsh sentences in order to tackle the drug menace in the country.
US District Judge Victor Marreno of the Manhattan Federal Court on Friday sentenced Akasha to 23 years in prison after the convict pleaded guilty to trafficking heroine and methamphetamine among other crimes.
“This is a great victory to the campaign against drug trafficking and abuse and I urge Kenyan courts to emulate the US court and impose heavy sentenced on narcotic drug offenders,” Mr. Famau told reporters in Malindi Town Saturday.
He lamented that the lives of young people in Kenya were in danger as the number of drug addicts was increasing daily yet drug traders continue carrying out their trade unbowed.
”As leaders in the forefront campaigning against drug abuse, we are saddened to see drug traders still trafficking in drugs while the authorities concentrate on the addicts,” he said.
He called on the National Police Service and the Judiciary among other state organs to firmly deal with drug barons in the country in order to save the lives of millions of young people.
By Emmanuel Masha
