Stories
October, 2026
The Price Of Being At The Wrong Place At The Wrong Time.
Looking at the weathered, peeling blue wooden door set into a rough mud-and-stone wall, with plastic bags hanging limply from its makeshift hinges, one gets a stark glimpse into the harsh reality of abject poverty. This is the dwelling where Faiza's son was forced to live after her imprisonment. It is a place defined by instability and a lack of security, a physical manifestation of how the ripples of a mother's incarceration can devastate the lives of her innocent children.
Faiza was charged with the offence of trafficking in narcotic drugs with an alternative charge of being in possession of narcotic drugs. She was alleged to have been found with six hundred and twenty-seven (627) rolls of bhang and admitted to bail of Ksh 150,000 (approx. $1,150 USD) and bond of Ksh 300,000 (approx. $2,300 USD).
The Kenyan law is illustrative on these two offences under the Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act.
“Section 3: Subject to subsection (3), any person who has in his possession any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance shall be guilty of an offence. A person guilty of an offence under subsection (1) shall be liable—(a) in respect of cannabis, where the person satisfies the court that the cannabis was intended solely for his own consumption, to imprisonment to a term of not more than five years or to a fine of not more than one hundred thousand shillings (approx. $770 USD); to, in addition to the sentences in paragraph (a) and (b) respectively, committal to appropriate court appointed treatment programme or to voluntary submission to a rehabilitation programme for a period not less than six months, where the court deems fit.
Section 4: Any person who trafficks in, or has in his or her possession any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance or any substance represented or held out by him or her to be a narcotic drug or psychotropic substance, shall be guilty of an offence and liable in respect of any narcotic drug or psychotropic substance—(i) where the person is in possession of between 1—100 grams, to a fine of not less than thirty million shillings (approx. $230,770 USD) or to imprisonment for a term of thirty years, or to both such fine and imprisonment; (ii) where the person is in possession of more than 100 grams, to a fine of not less than fifty million shillings (approx. $384,615 USD) or three times the market value of the narcotic psychotropic substance, whichever is greater, or to imprisonment for a term of fifty years, or to both such fine and imprisonment;”
Her defence was that the house she was found in was not hers, and the drugs were not hers. Unfortunately, the court could only know this during her defence. They would have had to listen to the prosecution’s case and place her on her defence; a process that could take months or even a year. Given that the subject matter was six hundred and twenty-seven (627) rolls of bhang, the court was not compelled to review the bail and bond terms towards the lower end.
Faiza was convinced that the only way out was through having her entire case heard and determined. The challenge was that she is a mother with minors who depend on her; her detention in Langata would only lead to her children suffering. During her arrest, her children were exposed and required to be rescued through the children’s office as they remained homeless—an appeal that we had to bring to the court’s attention. Moreover, the court process was long and often there are delays in the prosecution of the matter. Dates being issued in that court were in mid-2027 for hearing.
Our intervention on this matter included plea bargaining, and the probation report supported Faiza’s position: that was neither her home, neither were those her drugs, and the owner of the house ran away. She was sentenced to probation for six (6) months. Being in the wrong place at the wrong time almost cost Faiza her children’s well-being, her freedom, and her time. Had we not intervened, Faiza would have remained in pre-trial detention for a long time. Instead, she spent two (2) months in remand and was sentenced to probation.
Diana Gakinya- Legal Aid Advocate
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