A bhang dealer and his accomplice arrested with Sh169, 000 bhang in Nairobi pleaded guilty to charges of trafficking the narcotic drug.
But in a sudden twist of events, the duo made a U-turn and denied the charges after they were informed they could be jailed for life.
They are the dealer Bernard Otieno Ochieng, 40, and Victor Okello, 23, a bodaboda rider, who he had reportedly hired to transport the narcotics to his store in Dandora, a Nairobi suburb.
Mr Ochieng reportedly received the sack containing the bhang which was delivered to Machakos Country bus in Nairobi from Busia County as a parcel by a bus company and hired a trolley pusher who carried it to Kariokor where he handed it over to Mr Okello to take it his store in Dandora, on August 16, 2023.
However, Mr Okello was arrested by police officers along Griffin’s road in Pangani on suspicion he was carrying outlawed items.
Mr Ochieng proceeded to the area and informed the police officers that the bhang belonged to him and pleaded with them to release Mr Okello but they were arrested together and escorted to Pangani police station.
He told the cops that he had not informed Mr Okello that the sack contained bhang and he was to pay Sh1000 for the transportation.
At the station, Mr Ochieng reportedly confessed to cops that he had been engaged in bhang trafficking business.
Mr Okello told the cops he was called by Mr Ochieng who sought his services to transport the consignment but he had not asked what the sack contained and prosecution charged them.
They had admitted charges of trafficking the bhang contrary to section 4 (a) of the Narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances Act of 1994 where they are accused of trafficking 106 brooms of bhang while using a motorcycle.
They were to be charged with an alternative charge of possession of the bhang which was not in medicinal form but the same was dropped after they admitted the main charge.
They pleaded guilty to the charges before Senior Resident Magistrate Mercy Malingu of Makadara Law Courts and admitted the facts of the case as read out to them by the court prosecutor.
However, they made a U-turn and denied the charges after the prosecutor warned them that the penalty could be life imprisonment.
They were released on a bond of Sh500, 000 without an option of a cash bail. The case will come up for mention on September 27 before hearing starts on November 28.
