Editor's Review

Chief Magistrate Hezron Nyaberi ruled that if Chacha fails to pay the hefty fine, then he will serve a 50-year jail term.

The Narok Law Court has slapped a man with a Ksh50 million fine for peddling cannabis sativa worth Ksh1.4 million.

According to the  Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Chief Magistrate Hezron Nyaberi passed the sentence after finding Pascal Chacha guilty of trafficking in narcotic drugs.

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Nyaberi ruled that if Chacha fails to pay the hefty fine, then he will serve a 50-year jail term.

The convict had been charged under Section 4(a)(ii) of the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Amendment Act, 2022.

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"Chief Magistrate Hon. H. Nyaberi passed the sentence after finding him guilty upon his own plea later during trial. Mr. Chacha was sentenced to pay a Ksh50 million fine, or serve 50 years’ imprisonment in default," the DPP wrote.

A file photo of a court gavel.

According to the prosecution, Chacha, jointly with others, was found trafficking 47.3 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa (bhang) valued in a PSV.

The prosecution converted the matatu driver into a state witness after securing a plea bargain.

The court observed that the quantity of bhang was a significant aggravating circumstance, noting that the offence involved the conveyance of a substantial quantity of 47.3 kilogrammes of Cannabis Sativa.

"Having weighed the mitigation against the aggravating circumstances, the court found that the accused deserved a deterrent sentence and noted the court’s obligation to protect the public from the effects of such offences," the DPP wrote.

Elsewhere, the DPP secured a 20-year prison sentence for a man convicted of defiling a 14-year-old girl in Tinderet.

Principal Magistrate Sylvia Ashitsa Muhanda found the convict guilty of defilement, contrary to Section 8(1) as read with Section 8(3) of the Sexual Offences Act.

He had also faced an alternative charge of committing an indecent act with a child, contrary to Section 11(1) of the same Act.

The Court heard that the minor was a child with a disability who had experienced psychological and developmental challenges since the age of nine months.