By Jemimah Mueni
President Uhuru Kenyatta has said he will not side with evildoers and shamed the Judiciary for failing to convict drug peddlers and those facing corruption charges.
Addressing the nation from State House Mombasa on Tuesday, President Kenyatta cited the recent drug trafficking case involving two Akasha brothers who were sentenced for more than 20 years in the US, President Kenyatta said Kenya’s Judiciary was not taking matters seriously.
The Akasha cases were completed within a year from the time they were extradited.
“I think it’s a shame on our country that we prosecuted a case against drug traffickers in our country and we couldn’t get a prosecution and within a year of them being arraigned in the United States they have been jailed for not less than 25 years that is something that our judiciary should come to terms with,” he said.
Ibrahim Akasha was sentenced to 23 years on January 10, while his brother Baktash, accused of being a ringleader in the trade got 25 years in August 2019.
The Akasha brothers were arrested in Mombasa, in a U.S.-led sting operation, in which authorities said they provided 99 kilograms (218 lbs) of heroin and two kilograms of methamphetamine to DEA informants posing as drug traffickers.
Both pleaded guilty in October 2018.
President Kenyatta further said he has done his part in the war against corruption, saying the war will be won if the Judiciary starts convicting those charged with corruption.
Kenyatta has said that in the history of Kenya, no administration has ever prosecuted corruption the way he has done, citing the arrest of Ministers to Governors and senior government officers.
“Public officers today are now reluctant to engage in corrupt practices because they are indeed afraid,” he said, “I have no power to convict the accused. Now the judiciary should give us convictions as an indication that we are winning this war.”
This article was originally published on Capital FM.
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