KENYA: CLANDESTINE WAR AGAINST DRUG BARONS

Drug mules targeted in Coast mop-up drive

The Star

28 December 2021

Suspected drug mules are a worried lot in the Coast following a new drive by state agents to eliminate them from the market.
The drive is part of efforts to address the narcotics menace in the region.
Up to five people suspected to be drug mules are missing while others were killed in unclear circumstances. This has raised concerns among human rights agencies and families.

Government officials who talked to the Star said even though there is no official order on the new drive, it is necessary.
“As we fight the menace in courts other means will be employed to deal with it. Many may cry in the process,” a senior government official who asked not to be named said.
The official said they will be going for the main barons soon.

The latest victims to go missing are Mwinyi Mwinyi, 41, and Mohamed Ngwedeli, 38. They are accused of being narcotic traffickers.
The two were according to Haki Africa and Uhaki na Usawa Social Justice Center abducted by men believed to be police officers on December 21.
Friends of the two claimed they were drug mules and Haki Africa wants them to be produced in court.

On December 6, a wanted narcotics dealer who had remained a fugitive for years was killed by unknown gunmen in Diani, Kwale county.
According to police, Bosire Nyaigoti Makori, 41, was ‘attacked by unknown people who shot him several times killing him instantly’ as he rode to his home on a motorbike in Ngerenya that Monday night.

In 2017, Makori was arrested in a sting operation by the Anti-Narcotic Unit that netted three Italians, a Mauritius national and two Kenyan women.
In what was seen as a shot in the arm in the war on the menace, a woman found guilty of trafficking heroin worth Sh7.3 million was jailed for life and fined Sh22 million by a Mombasa court on December 15.

Trial magistrate David Odhiambo said the prosecution had proved its case beyond any reasonable doubt against Fatuma Sicobo Mohammed, hence his decision to send her to jail.
Mohammed was charged for trafficking 2.5 kilos of heroin by storing the drugs in her house. 
However, her co-accused Masuo Bakari Tajiri who is missing was set free.

Tajiri and Mohammed had been accused of committing the crimes on April 16, 2019, in Bakarani, Mombasa county.

Tajiri disappeared on December 5 alongside two others who had accompanied him to Thika where he intended to purchase a matatu.
His whereabouts are still unknown even as charges against him were thrown out by Shanzu law court.
The court directed that Sh175,000, which was recovered during his arrest at his Nyali home be returned to him.
There are concerns that the drug menace is running uncontrolled due to high consumption in the Coast and the country at large.

Once just a passing stop on the trafficking route to Europe, Kenya is becoming a major destination in itself for heroin, with addiction rising as tonnes of powder pass through East Africa.
Heroin is one of the most trafficked and consumed narcotics at the Coast and the country at large. Others include cocaine and other psychotropic substances.
Apart from these narcotics, alcohol, miraa, prescription drugs, tobacco, marijuana and inhalants are also widely consumed.

Police say traffickers now use roads as opposed to airports to carry out their business.
The most commonly trafficked narcotics from Tanzania and through Uganda is heroin.
In 2019, the European Union Ambassador to Kenya Simon Mordue said the Kenyan port of Mombasa accounted for 30 per cent of illegal heroin smuggled into the EU market.
He said they had engaged Kenyan authorities to handle the issue.
The revelations were not new to some government officials who know the trend of the business.

Most of the heroin in the country originate from Afghanistan through the Indian Ocean.
Kenyan security agencies seized the second-biggest haul of cocaine weighing 100 kilos and valued at Sh598 million in 2016 in Mombasa. The drug was disguised as sugar.
The case was however later dismissed in court.

Puzzle as six men vanish without trace

Nation Media Group

December 10, 2021

When best friends Fahmi Bakari, 21, and Hussein Mohammed, 26, left their Kisauni home in Mombasa last Sunday, they had big dreams.

The two had accompanied Mr Bakari Masuo, 51, to buy a matatu in Thika and Limuru towns in Kiambu County.

However, according to the men’s relatives, they did not buy the matatu after realizing it had engine problems and opted to travel back to Mombasa.

However, they did not reach their destination.

Their vehicle, a Toyota Crown Royal, was found abandoned in Mariakani near a mosque on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway and the whereabouts of the three are unknown.

Their mobile phones have also been switched off since Sunday when they were travelling back to Mombasa.

Mr Masuo is a businessman in the transport sector while Mr Mohammed manages matatus in Kisauni. Mr Bakari is a tout.

The Nation learnt that Mr Masuo has a pending case in court for drug trafficking. He is out on bond and has been arrested three times over trafficking in drugs.

“Mr Masuo owns another matatu. He wanted Hussein to be the new manager of his matatu. Fahmi and Hussein were to come back driving the matatu while their boss drove back in his private car,” revealed Mr Bakari’s elder brother, Athman Bakari.  

Tracing the missing men

The families suspect their relatives were abducted and have reported the case to the Dog Section in Mombasa and at the Voi police station in Taita Taveta County.

“My son Hussein is an obedient boy and loved by many people. I know my son, he was just starting his life in the matatu business. He is a well-known person and I doubt he would engage in any criminal activity” said his mother, Ms Zahra Omar.

Mr Mohammed’s wife, Ms Asli Issack, urged the security agencies to help trace the men.

“Hussein left home with the two on Friday at around 10pm to go to purchase a vehicle. My husband met Mr Masuo recently because he deals in the matatu business and wanted him to be his manager,” said Ms Isaack.

“When they left, he would inform me about the journey’s progress. But on Sunday at around 11am, he called me to tell me they had reached Mariakani and I should prepare him some snacks, only for his phone to be switched off at around noon.”

She thought it was poor connectivity, but when her husband’s two colleagues could not also be reached on phone, she became worried.

She went to Mr Masuo’s house to check whether they had arrived.

“But the wife told me she wasn’t aware they were travelling back. We went to Mr Hussein’s father to make search arrangements. At Mariakani police station the police told us they were unaware about them,” she said.

But on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway, they found the vehicle their three relatives were travelling in abandoned.

Whereabouts remain unknown

The vehicle had been parked at Maungu, near a mosque. It was intact, and inside was foodstuff and shopping the men had bought along the highway.

“But there was no trace of them. To date, we don’t know their whereabouts. We don’t know whether they have been abducted by the state machinery, enemies, or criminals. Please return them safely.

This is the fifth day, we don’t know whether they are dead or alive,” said Ms Isaack.

The distraught families said they have had sleepless nights worrying about their vanished relatives.

Human rights activist Alexander Mbela urged police to unravel the disappearances.

Recently, human rights groups lamented the worsening state of security, increased cases of extrajudicial killings, abductions, enforced disappearances and gender-based violence ahead of the 2022 General Election.

Under the Police Reforms Working Group Kenya, the human rights organisations comprising legal entities, social justice centres and women’s organisations said there were 39 cases of extrajudicial killings and 47 enforced disappearance recorded since January this year. 

Elsewhere, three people from Likoni have also been allegedly abducted.

Mr Saidi Mohamed Abdi alias Shwazi, his friend Rashid Said alias Dagy and Mr Omar Mohammed have been missing since December 3.

Abandoned vehicle

They had left their homes in a private vehicle destined for Kwale. Their vehicle was later found abandoned at Samburu market on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.  

Sources revealed a major anti-drug trafficking operation in the Coast region led to the arrest of some suspects.

But when asked, Coast regional police commandant Manase Musyoka said he would get back to the Nation.

“I will give details later, I have been attending a security seminar since morning,” said Mr Musyoka.

Separately, suspected drug dealer Bosire Nyaigoti Makori who has been on the run, was on Monday night gunned down by unknown people outside his Diani home in Kwale County.

The 41-year-old was shot at around 8.30pm as he entered his compound in the Ngerenya area.

Detectives have launched investigations into the Monday night shooting, which was reported by the deceased’s younger brother, Mwaniki Makori Nyaigoti.

According to OB No. 89/06/12/2021, the unknown assailants shot Makori several times, killing him on the spot.

Scene of crime police arrived and found an orange carrier bag containing about three kilos of brown and white substances suspected to be narcotic drugs.

Body of missing suspected drug baron found mutilated

The Star

11 January 2022

The body of missing suspected Mombasa drug baron Masuo Bakari Tajiri has been found at a mortuary in Thika, Kiambu county.
The body, which was badly decomposed, had marks of torture and burns.
Masuo’s wife Caro Nyambura said she was not sure whether the body was her husband’s.

“I’m not sure if it is Tajiri or not. The photos show the beard is dyed while he never dyed his,” she said, adding that the forehead looks like Tajiri’s and that is why she cannot confirm.
“I will comment further when my doubts have been cleared. At the moment, I’m in hospital with a sick child,” she said.

Tajiri went missing on December 5 alongside two others people who had accompanied him to Thika to purchase a new matatu.
Mohammed Hussein and Fahmi Bakari are still missing with the families hoping for their safe return.
Hussein’s father Babadi Mohamed, who went to Thika when he received the information on the body, confirmed it was Tajiri.

“His body is mutilated, a clear indication that he was tortured and burnt to death,” he said.
He however said his son and his friend were still missing.
Tajiri has been severally linked to drug trafficking in Kenya and beyond with authorities describing him as “Akasha in the making”.

He had been described as swift mover whose moves in the drug business were well and cleverly calculated.
Thrice, Tajiri had been arrested with heroin worth millions of shillings, but somehow managed to secure bail.

He was facing three drug-trafficking cases in Mombasa courts but was out on bond in all of them.
In December, a Shanzu court acquitted him in one of the cases where he alongside Fatuma Sicobo, were accused of trafficking 2.5kgs of heroin worth Sh22 million having been arrested in April 2019.

Tajiri, who was already missing during the judgment, escaped the hook as he was acquitted but his co-accused was sentenced to a lifetime in prison.
In June 2019, he was found in possession of 1.4kgs of heroin valued at Sh3.1 million.
In 2017, he was arrested in a crackdown targeting Italians suspected of being involved in the narcotics trade and who were found with heroin worth Sh10 million, cash and ammunition.

Police records show that Tajiri’s troubles with the police did not start in 2017 but are dated back to 1994 where he was charged with robbery with violence before he was sentenced to face the hangman.
He was however lucky as he was among those who were released after a presidential pardon in 2014 having already served 20 years.
Tajiri is also linked to another suspected drug baron Swaleh Kandereni alias “candy rain” as they are reportedly married to two sisters.

Suspected drug lord who went missing in December found dead

People Daily

12 January 2022

Suspected Mombasa drug baron who went missing on December 5, 2021 has been found dead.
Masuo Bakari Tajiri’s badly decomposed body was recovered in a thicket in Thika, Kiambu county.
Masuo, who has a string of drug related cases in various courts, went missing alongside Fahmi Bakari, 21 and Hussein Mohamed 26.
Bakari’s relative, Hussein Masuo, confirmed that the suspected drug kingpin’s body had been recovered in a thicket in Thika town and transported to City Mortuary in Nairobi.

By the time of going to press, his family was making arrangements to transport it to Mombasa for burial.
Relatives of the trio claim unknown people at Maungu near Voi in Taita Taveta county abducted them on December 5, last year.
By the time of going to press last evening, the whereabouts of Fahmi and Mohamed remained unknown despite reports that one body had been recovered near Pirates Beach in Bamburi area, Mombasa. 

Their families say the three had travelled to Limuru and Thika towns on December 3 allegedly to buy a Nissan matatu.
At the time, Bakari, who was being sought by Interpol over trans-border drug trafficking in Tanzania, Congo and Kenya, was also facing a case of being found in possession of 24,466.4 grammes of heroin with a market value of Sh7. 4 million.
On December 15, Bakari was acquitted by a Shanzu court in absentia due to lack of evidence while his co-accused, Fatuma Sicobo, was sentenced to life imprisonment.

Matatu business
Bakari is said to have invested in public service transport and owned a fleet of matatus plying the busy Kisauni route. It is through his involvement in the matatu industry that he got acquainted to Fahmi and Mohamed, who operated a matatu on the route.  After interacting for close to three months, Bakari approached Mohamed to manage his matatu business. Police records indicate Bakari had served a prison term of seven years and had been arrested thrice for drug trafficking.

According to a police intelligence report, Fahmi and Mohamed are believed to have been lured into drug trafficking by Bakari.
Bakari’s family yesterday disclosed that upon arrival in Thika, their kin and Fahmi disagreed after realising he was on a drugs-related mission.
It is then that Fahmi and  Mohamed decided to travel back to Mombasa in a private vehicle, leaving the deceased behind.

Wanted drugs suspect Bosire killed by gunmen in Kwale

The Star

07 December 2021 – 09:57

A wanted narcotics dealer who had remained fugitive for years has been killed by unknown gunmen in Diani, Kwale county, police said.
According to police, Bosire Nyaigoti Makori, 41, was ‘attacked by unknown people who shot him several times killing him instantly’ as he rode into his home using a motorbike in the Ngerenya area on Monday night.

The incident was reported by the deceased’s younger brother Mwaniki Makori at Msambweni Police Station under OB No. 89/06/12/2021.

An orange carrier bag containing approximately 3kgs of brown and white substances suspected to be hard drugs, one electric weighing scale and a total of Sh19,600 cash in different denominations was recovered beside the body, a police report indicates.
Kwale police commander Ambrose Oloo told the Star police have taken the substances for tests.
“We dispatched police officers to respond to a shooting incident…one person who is the owner of the house was killed,” Oloo said.
Four spent cartridges of 9mm were also recovered from the scene.
Reports indicate the body that has since been moved to Kwale Sub County hospital mortuary had multiple gunshot wounds on the head and chest.

KNOWN DRUG TRAFFICKER
While police investigate the motive of the killing, the deceased is a known drug trafficker, who like others in Coast has sustained his drugs enterprise despite arrests.

In 2017, Bosire was arrested in a sting operation by the Anti-Narcotic Unit that netted three Italians, a Mauritius national and two Kenyan women.
He was found with two pistols.
The then Coast Regional Police Coordinator Philip Tuimur told journalists at a press conference, at Coast regional police headquarters that Bosire was the main supplier of heroin sourced from Tanzania to South Coast.

He termed the deceased as a repeat offender who at one time escaped a police vehicle in handcuffs while being taken to cells.
Police also named his brother Mwaniki who reported his shooting to police on Monday night and Ruwa Mwaruwa as accomplices in the drugs supply network.
Insiders privy with narco cartels’ modus operandi say the deceased might have been eliminated by fellow under-world operators in a case of a deal gone sour.

Body of second man seized in Mombasa found in Thika mortuary

Nation Media Group

January 31, 2022

Two weeks after suspected drug baron Masuo Bakari Tajiri’s body was found in a thicket in Lari, Kiambu County, the body of a man reportedly abducted alongside him has been found.

Mr Fahmi Bakari Shekuwe’s body was found at the General Kago Funeral Home, where it was taken on December 7, two days after the two were grabbed by unknown people and their vehicle abandoned in Mariakani on the Mombasa-Nairobi highway.

Human rights pressure group Haki Africa confirmed the body of Shekuwe had bruises and cuts to the head. His family has asked the group to help conduct a postmortem today (Monday) to establish the cause of his death.

“Our officers were at the mortuary on Sunday and identified the body of Shekuwe after his family gave us details of his birthmarks, which we used to identify him,” said Haki Africa Executive Director Hussein Khalid. 

“He was brought to the morgue by police as per the mortuary records, which shows he was murdered. But we suspect foul play.”
Shekuwe was picked up on December 5 in Mazeras alongside his best friend Hussein Mohamed Hussein and accompanied Tajiri to go purchase a matatu in Thika and Limuru.

They did not buy the matatu, after realising it had engine problems, and decided to return to Mombasa. On their way home, they were allegedly abducted by armed people.

Last December, Tajiri’s co-accused Fatuma Sicobo Mohamed was jailed for life for trafficking 2,466.4 grams of heroin worth more than Sh7.3 million but he was acquitted for lack of evidence.

When the judgment was issued on December 15, Tajiri, who was also facing a similar charge, was nowhere to be found to celebrate his acquittal.

Two weeks after his acquittal, his lifeless body was discovered by a family friend lying at City Mortuary in Nairobi.

The body of the businessman, who had a fleet of matatus, had been found in a thicket in Lari on January 7. Mr Hussein used to manage some of his matatus in Kisauni while Shekuwe was a tout.

“The family of the late Shekuwe also came in the afternoon and after seeing the body and looking at his body marks, they confirmed that it was him. However, Hussein’s whereabouts is still unknown,” added Mr Khalid.

Mr Khalid said the group was working with the police for the body to be released for burial.

“We are calling for the return of many other Kenyans who are still missing. It is unacceptable that people go missing and are found murdered in mortuaries or rivers. 

“We call on the security authorities to be open with Kenyans and let us know what the government policy is on extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearance.”

Haki Africa said Shekuwe was the eighth person found dead this year after going missing. Some 150 people disappeared last year, Mr Khalid said.

The majority, he added, were suspects with cases in court or police records.

Tajiri was buried at a cemetery in Mwandoni. A postmortem report from pathologist Simon Omuok showed he was severely tortured and later strangled. 

Autopsy: Victim was tortured, burnt with car lighter

The Star

2 February 2022

Fahmi Bakari Shekuwe chose the wrong company early in life and took the advice of wayward peers over that of his parents and siblings.
His family said he rejected school and dropped out in Form 3, preferring quick cash as a matatu tout.

This is how the 21-year-old would be drawn to Masuo Bakari Tajiri, 52, who owned a matatu fleet plying the lucrative Kisauni route. It is thought that Shekuwe worked for Tajiri.

On December 3 last year, Shekuwe, alongside a colleague, accompanied Tajiri on a business trip to Limuru where Tajiri was to buy another matatu.
On December 5 on their way back to Mombasa, the three were abducted at Mariakani by armed men who ordered them out of their car into a waiting vehicle. 
On January 7, the bodies of Tajiri and Shekuwe were found in a Lari forest and Kieni forest, respectively.
The family of Shekuwe found his body at Thika Level 5 Hospital mortuary last weekend.

Postmortems showed that Shekuwe and Tajiri bore marks of severe torture and strangulation.
For Shekuwe, the tormentors went further, burning his body with something that looked like a car lighter. 
Marks on his body showed he struggled for his life.

Hussein Mohammed is yet to be found.

Were Shekuwe and his associates victims of circumstance or were they under Tajiri’s tutelage?
On December 15, while he was still missing, a Shanzu court acquitted him in a drug-related case for lack of evidence.
He had been charged alongside one Fatuma Sicobo, accused of trafficking 2.5kg of heroin worth Sh22 million, having been arrested in April 2019.
Sicobo was however convicted and sentenced to life in prison. 

In June 2019, he was found in possession of another 1.4kg of heroin valued at Sh3.1 million.
In 2017, he had been arrested in a crackdown targeting Italians suspected of being involved in the narcotics trade and who were found with heroin worth Sh10 million, cash and ammunition.
He was also being sought by Interpol over trans-border drug trafficking in Tanzania, Congo and Kenya.

Body of another missing drug dealer found in city mortuary

The Star

11 February 2022

The body of a suspected drug trafficker based in Mombasa who went missing in December last year has been found in a mortuary in Nairobi.

Mwinyi Mzungu’s badly mutilated body was found at the City Mortuary Thursday long after he had gone missing since December 20 from his Utange home.
Haki Africa said the body was found at City Mortuary and had been identified by the family.

“We can confirm that the body of Mwinyi Mzungu is lying at City mortuary in Nairobi. This is after family members positively identified his body,” the agency said Friday.
Other officials said the body was recovered from Kinale forest in Kiambu.

Mwinyi was a neighbor of Masuo Bakari Tajiri whose badly decomposed body with marks of torture and burns was found in a mortuary in Thika.
Mwinyi’s sister said he was abducted on December 20, 2021.

“Unknown men came to his house, and enquired about Mwinyi. After confirming it’s him, the men claimed to be police officers and stated that he is under arrest. After he enquired about the reason for arrest, the men claimed that he would be told later on,” Mwinyi’s sister, Sadaka Nyanje said.

Cases of missing persons being found dead have been on the rise in the past months amid protests that most of them are suspects with cases in courts.

Fifth body found as police link murdered youths to drugs, scamming

Police and family identified him as Joseph Njau Ng’endo, who was running for Njiru MCA seat in Kasarani, Nairobi.

The Star

23 June 2022

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A fifth body was yesterday picked from Ngubi Forest in Lari amid investigations into the murders of people being dumped in the area.

Police and family identified the body as Joseph Njau Ng’endo, who was running for Njiru MCA seat in Kasarani, Nairobi.

His body was taken to City Mortuary.

Police say he was on their watchlist over claims of drug trafficking. He was ironically known to be an anti-narcotics crusader. He was arrested in 2019 while in possession of five kilos of heroin.

Njau was arrested in Westlands, Nairobi, after falling into a police dragnet shortly after returning from a trip to Kampala, Uganda. He is suspected of having gone to Kampala to procure the drugs which he had concealed inside pawpaws.

Police, who say Njau is part of a larger heroin distribution network in Nairobi, believe he procured the narcotics from a Nigerian based in Kampala.

“Police records indicate that Njau is a frequent traveller to Uganda. He has a pattern of leaving Kenya through the Busia border and coming back to Kenya through the Malaba border. He does this to evade detection,” a police report said then.

“In early February 2019, Njau made two trips to Uganda where he is suspected to have hammered a deal with his Nigerian drug associates.” Njau, the authorities say, masks his drug dealing activities in legitimate business and charity work.

“When not dealing drugs, Njau works part-time as an anti-drug abuse campaigner. He regularly visits schools and social gatherings to give talks against drug abuse.”

The suspect was arraigned in the JKIA law courts with possession and trafficking of narcotic drugs. The case is pending in court. 

Embu shooting: Inside the double life of Dennis Mbae

Friday, June 10, 2022

Nation Media Group

A man who was on Wednesday June 8 night shot dead by unknown people in Embu town had for long been on the radar screen of detectives, the Nation can report.

Dennis Mbae Mutegi, alias Mbuyu, was also battling court cases for drug trafficking, robbery with violence and murder.

Mbae was on his way home in his white Toyota Noah, registration number KCX 559A, when gunmen in a car with no number plates blocked his path around 11pm at Bonanza, before pumping 20 bullets on him.

Residents said gunshots could be heard three kilometres from the scene of the crime.

“I was home when the gunshots started ringing. I ran to the scene and found him inside the vehicle. He was badly wounded,” said one of the witnesses.

The first responders said Mbae’s car had rolled into a ditch but he was still alive. He, however, died while being rushed to hospital.

The news of his death yesterday spawned conspiracy theories around Embu on who wanted him dead.

It is said the suspected leader of a criminal gang was well known within the town due to his connections especially within police circles. Others painted the image of a dreaded drug dealer.

Highly placed sources told the Nation that one of Mbae’s closest associates within the police service was a Directorate of Criminal Investigations officer based in Embu who was murdered in unclear circumstances in January this year.

Constable Abdirahim Adow Abdulahi, who had been spotted a number of times hanging out with Mbae at entertainment joints within Embu town was kidnapped in Isiolo on January 20 2022.

His body was found four days later at the Kolkol viewpoint in Elgeyo-Marakwet County.

The body, according to the family, had deep cuts on the head, face and at his neck showing signs of strangulation.

The deceased, a father of eight, was until his death a police constable attached to Embu DCI department and stationed at Itabua Mugoya Police station, and had served for 12 years.

He was reported missing after his family couldn’t trace his whereabouts.

According to the deceased’s third wife, Zainab Dheka who was living with him in Embu, Adow had gone for an assignment in Mombasa on the day before he disappeared.

Dheka said on the day he went missing at around 10am they spoke on phone, and he informed her that he was at Isiolo highway on his way back to Embu.

According to Adow’s brother Abdikadir Abdulahi, after filing a missing person report at Isiolo police station where his car was found, he was referred to Embu.

It is said that the murdered policeman was in the company of a friend identified as Yahya Hassan when he went missing. Hassan is still missing, and the family is still searching for him. 

Mr. Mbae whose connections reportedly shielded him from the law was also a politician.

In 2017, he was keen to contest the Kirimari ward seat on a Maendeleo Chap Chap ticket but lost to Morris Muchiri in the party primaries.

Yesterday, residents thronged the Embu Level 4 Hospital Mortuary to confirm he was indeed dead while others discussed the murder on social media.

Police urged the public to stop speculating on Mbae’s death and instead wait for investigations to reveal the motive of the murder.

“It is true the trader was heading home when he was fatally attacked by people whose vehicle had no registration numbers. We have commenced investigations with a view to establishing the truth of the matter,” said Embu West sub-county police boss Julius Kyumbule.

Fellow traders insisted that Mbae was killed due to business rivalry.

“It is likely that our colleague was killed over business rivalry,” said Former Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry Embu branch chairman Maina Kanyi.

Sources in security circles, however, told the Nation that Mbae was not only a hardcore criminal but had dozens of criminals on his call who would rob people in Embu and bring the stolen goods to him to sell.

The gang is suspected to be behind the rising number of break-ins, stealing of motor vehicles and selling of drugs within the county.

Curiously, Mbae and a number of his suspected associates, had pending criminal cases but were all out on bond.

In 2018, the businessman-cum-politician was arrested and charged in court with trafficking bhang worth Sh260,000. 

Police told the court that they had trailed him for three months on suspicion that he was trafficking drugs from Ethiopia, before cornering him at his house in Dallas estate. Upon searching his Toyota Probox station wagon, the police said they found 13 kilos of the drug.

Mbae denied the charge before Resident Magistrate Jean Ndengeri, who released him on Sh300,000 bond. The case is yet to be concluded.

Four years before his arrest and prosecution for drug trafficking, the businessman was charged at the same court with murder.

On May 5, 2014, Patrick Ndwiga Njahi, an alcoholic drinks trader, was found murdered at his home in Shauri estate in Embu. He had multiple stab wounds. After weeks of investigation, the police arrested Lucy Wanja Kimani, Ann Wangare Muchiri, Muthini Kimani and Mbae on suspicion that they had been involved in the murder.

The four were charged before Justice Florence Muchemi with the murder.

Mbae and Wanja initially refused to plead to the charges, saying they had not been arrested for the murder but for selling alcohol without a licence and that the charges had not been properly framed.

“I agree with the prosecution that the evidence to support the charges need not be included in the particulars of the offence,” ruled justice Muchemi.

“The evidence will be adduced during hearing in support of the charges.  It is from that evidence that the unlawful act caused by the accused persons and which resulted in the death of the deceased persons will be disclosed,” ruled the judge before ordering the two to take plea.

The case is still ongoing.

Embu murder victim Dennis Mbae ‘had a premonition of his death’

The Standard

Jun 11th 2022

Dennis Mbae was living the life in Embu as some of his neighbours accused him of ruining their lives.
To some, Mbae was a criminal, to others, he was a reformed serial offender who was committed to mending his ways.
A farmer, a restaurant owner, a carwash owner, a polygamist, a fast-moving consumer goods dealer, a suspected drug baron… were some of the descriptions of Mbae that several interviewees gave.

On Monday, June 6, Mbae was shot dead by an unknown gunman at Bonanza Estate in Embu Town.
His vehicle, a Toyota van, was sprayed with more than ten bullets, leaving Mbae badly injured. He was taken to the Embu Level 5 Hospital, where he died during treatment.
At that juncture, a controversial four-decade life ended in the most brutal manner.

The deceased, who was in his early 40s, was raised in Embu County, though a native of Tharaka Nithi County. He attended a public primary school in Embu, but dropped out midway.

John Nyaga, who was Mbae’s schoolmate at Embu County Primary School, described the deceased as a soft-spoken person, who rarely picked fights with people.

“He was calm and cool-headed,” said Nyaga.
A Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI) officer, who spoke to The Standard in confidence, said Mbae did not make it past Standard Six.
“He dropped out after losing both parents while in Standard Six,” he said.

Another of Mbae’s classmates said he “disappeared, never to be heard of again”.
“Much later, well into adulthood, I learnt that Mbae had ventured into business, and that he was also into the illegal chang’aa brewing business. He allegedly operated the drinking den at Majengo slums in Embu Town,” said the informant, who sought anonymity.
“Mbae was mysterious, secretive and calculating,” he added.

One of Mbae’s drivers, who spent most of his time working for the now-deceased, said Mbae educated him from primary to secondary level, and thereafter enrolled him into a driving school.
Both were born and partially raised in Chera Village in Chuka, Tharaka Nithi County.

“After completing my driving lessons, he promised to helped me get a job within the police service. At the time, there were reports that he’d helped at least 30 boys get recruitment into the police service,” said the 30-year-old informant, who asked not to be identified.
As Mbae’s driver, his day at work would start at 9am.

“On Monday, he asked me to meet him at his pig farm, located a few metres from his house in Dallas Estate. For a better part of the morning, he interacted with his 30 workers at the pig farm, offsetting their dues and paying suppliers their money,” said the 30-year-old driver.
“Later in the afternoon, he left for his restaurant known as Casablanca. That’s where he spent the remainder of his day.”

The driver said Mbae appeared disturbed. “There was a private number that kept calling him, and every time he received the call, the caller would hang up after a tense moment of silence.”
“At around 10pm, he asked me to go home. Several minutes later, I was shocked to be informed by boda boda operators that Mbae had been shot in his vehicle.”

The driver said he rushed to the scene, and found Mbae’s bullet-riddled vehicle in a ditch at Bonanza Estate.
“We took him to the Embu Level 5 Hospital, but he died before he could receive proper treatment.”
Another person who knows Mbae well, but also spoke in confidence, said they met in 2014.

“Mbae hired me as a driver to transport muguka to Nairobi. A few months later, I was involved in a road accident at Nairutia area in Nyeri County. Shortly thereafter, Mbae closed the muguka business, saying it was not profitable.”
According to the informant, 27, Mbae “engaged in crime in the past, but had since reformed”.

“Sometime 2020, robbers stole Sh3 million from his house. He told me it didn’t bother him because he was paying for his past sins.”
According to the source, Mbae embarked on a transformation journey after two of his close associates, identified as Blackie and Mugermany, were gunned down by police.
“Mbae even started going to church. Every Sunday, he’d go to the Anglican Church of Kenya (ACK) in Dallas, Embu.”

The informant said Mbae appeared to have a premonition of his death.
“On June 6, he paid me some Sh10,000 that he owed me. While giving me the money, he said he wouldn’t wish to die without offsetting his debts. Earlier, an unknown woman had called and threatened to harm him to prove she was more of a ‘gangster’ than him.”

The source further said: “Mbae helped me to get out of poverty. I now own a parcel of land and a motorbike.”
He listed some of Mbae’s businesses, including a hotel, bar, carwash, dairy and tomato farming ventures.
“He sold 200 litres of milk daily and reared more than 100 head of cattle.”
A witness, who was among the first responders to the shooting scene, said Mbae was with a woman in the car on the day he was fatally shot.

“After the gunshot sounds faded, we rushed to the scene. A blood-stained and badly wounded Mbae was on the driver’s seat. A youthful woman came out of the rear seats while crying. Due to the moment’s shock and confusion, we rushed Mbae to the hospital and lost focus on the woman,” said the witness identified only as Karis.
To some, Mbae was the local youth saviour, claiming he helped at least 100 young men from Embu Town get into the boda boda business.
To others however, Mbae was a dubious dealer, who earned from cattle rustling, drug trafficking, theft and robberies.

A DCI officer, who spoke to The Standard in confidence, said: “He sold bhang and dealt in illegal gun trade. He lived in a Sh10 million house, had several women as spouses and was well connected within the police service. Every time there was a change of guard at the Embu County police leadership, he’d attend the hand-over ceremonies. That’s how well-connected he was.”

Crime records show that he previously served a five-year jail sentence at the Embu GK Prison, and was out after filing an appeal.
He’d also been arraigned on suspicion of drug trafficking, robbery with violence and murder.
On May 5, 2014, he was accused of the murder of a businessman at the Shauri Estate in Embu. In 2018, he was arraigned on bhang-trafficking charges, allegations he denied, and was released on Sh300,000 cash bail.
Though the number of spouses he had remains unclear, several people who spoke to The Standard said he had at least 15 women and more than 30 children.

A raid in his house in 2021, revealed that he had 15 children living with him. The children were being taken care of by his two nannies.
“Mbae had a principle that if he has children with you and you happen to fall out, he’ll ask you to go but leave the children in his care,” a source who knew Mbae’s family happenings said.
The deceased unsuccessfully tried his hand at politics in 2017. He attempted to run for Kirimari Ward MCA seat on Maendeleo Chap Chap Party, but lost to Morris Muchiri in the party primaries.

Dennis Mbae: Cruel side of man who spread fear in Embu

The Standard

Jun 12th 2022

Dennis Mbae ran a network of legal and illegal ventures in Embu and the neighbouring Kirinyaga.
His name was only spoken in whispers when he lived and although one of his known legal businesses was Casablanca Club in Dallas Estate, Embu, few people understood the intricate underground operation he ran as law enforcers looked away.
Mr Mbae woke up early as usual on Wednesday and spent most of his morning minding the pig farm he ran at Dallas. He spent considerable time supervising his farmhand to shovel manure and wash the pigs. He also paid their wages.

Mr Mbae also ran a dairy farm nearby. Most of the livestock was believed to have been stolen through his thriving illegal ventures extending deep into Embu and Kirinyaga counties.
Driving his Toyota Alphard, it appears he passed through the dairy farm to inspect his stock, some probably stolen only days ago. The dairy farm in Dallas produced at least 200 litres of milk a day, according to the workers. 
At 1pm, Mr Mbae passed through a food kiosk he ran on the other side of Dallas, looked at the books, picked some collections, and left for his operational base – Club Casablanca.

His workers say the primary school dropout strictly monitored his business and examined the books with a keen eye to ensure no one stole from him. Accounts from close associates say he stayed at the club until around 10pm when he left in his car heading home.

Embu West subcounty police commander Julius Kyumbure said initial investigations indicates the man was trailed by an unidentified vehicle before he was ambushed by gunmen who shot him at close range.
“Good Samaritans informed the police and rushed him to the Embu Level Five Hospital where he died while receiving treatment,” Mr Kyumbure said, adding that investigations point to elimination by a highly specialised criminal gang. Detectives in the probe said a high calibre rifle with extra precision was used.

Many Dallas residents heard the gunshots but few knew their neighbour who had terrorised them for years had finally been eliminated.

The news would soon catch up with them and videos would surface of droves of Embu residents visiting the mortuary to confirm that the feared man was indeed dead.
Some of the videos showed crowds ululating outside the mortuary and dancing in celebration.

Mr Mbae was ruthless with people he perceived as obstacles in his operations. Sources say he operated a network of criminal activities that included drug trafficking, illicit brewing in Majengo slums, livestock theft, house and shop break-ins and burglary, robberies, and car theft.
His other businesses included a liquor outlet, a car wash, and a vehicle spare parts shop. He also practised tomato farming in Kirinyaga on a farm where he also kept more than 100 cattle of mixed breeds.

A 30-year-old man who worked for him recounted the hours before Mr Mbae’s death.
The Tharaka Nithi resident said Mr Mbae paid for his school fees and promised to help him get a job in the disciplined forces like he had done for many others. He said Mbuyu (slang for father), as they used to call him, left his Dallas house at around 9am and headed to the pig farm.

“He spent the most part of his morning paying workers and suppliers. He was stressed most of Wednesday because a private number kept calling him and the person on the other side did not speak. It’s like he knew he was a marked man.”
Paid Sh100,000
The man went on. “He paid me some Sh10,000 he owed me, saying he didn’t want to die with debts. The private number called again and a woman on the other end threatened him.”

They parted ways at around 10pm when he headed home. “We were still at Casablanca when a rider rushed in saying Mbuyu had been shot.”
With other friends, the assistant helped rush him to the hospital but he died as they tried to look for a vehicle to transfer him.
Another close associate of Mr Mbae who knew him since 2014 when he was hired at his car wash said the businessman was once in the muguka business. He stopped, saying it didn’t pay him well.

The 27-year-old confirmed that Mr Mbae had been involved in crime but had reformed and wanted to reconcile with those he wronged.
“I remember robbers once stole Sh3 million after breaking into his house in 2020 but he said he didn’t feel wronged and that it was payback for all he had done in the past. He warned us that any wrong thing you do will haunt you one time.” 

The associate said Mr Mbae almost became religious and regretted his past, wishing he would pay for his sins to ensure his children didn’t have to upon his death.
Mr Mbae, he said, started reforming after the gunning down of his accomplices identified as Blaque and Mugermany. He even started attending church.

A few metres from where Mr Mbae’s car was sprayed with bullets, a witness recounted how he heard several gunshots around 10pm.
“I looked through the window and saw a lot of dust and noticed a car in a ditch. A few metres away another car was reversing and sped off,” said the man identified only as Karis.
He said together with other neighbours they broke the windows of Mr Mbae’s car and a  woman emerged from the back seat crying.

“We identified Mr Mbae who was in pain and was straining to speak.” 
His close associates said Mr Mbae had employed more than 100 youth who were earning from his business and that he had helped them acquire motorcycles to earn a living.
That way he also ensured he had many hands to run his errands.
Mr Mbae served a five-year sentence at the Embu GK Prison and was released after an appeal before he secured orders to stop his arrest.
His close allies say he had many wives, some claim they numbered 20.

Sometime last year, he had about 15 children under the care of two house helps in his house. Mr Mbae had pending cases in court over drug trafficking, robbery with violence, and murder. On May 5, 2014, he was implicated in the murder of a businessman at Shauri Estate in Embu town.  

In 2018, he was charged with trafficking bhang with a street value of Sh260,000. He denied the charges and was released on Sh300,000 bail. 
In 2017, he sought the Maendeleo Chap Chap ticket for Kirimari ward but lost the nomination. Mr Mbae, in his early 40s, was born in Embu and went to County Primary School. John Nyaga, one of his schoolmates, said he never went beyond upper primary and his first venture was a chang’aa business within Majengo slums. 
Resident Macharia Mohamed said he lost electronics severally and that they usually were traced at Mr Mbae’s warehouse.

“Those who knew him would walk to the warehouse and ask them to search for their property. I remember he told me to pick up my goods and to ensure in future I properly locked my house. This happened with lost livestock too,” Mr Mohamed said. 
Other victims accused the man said to have lived a life of secrecy of dealing ruthlessly with rivals.
Mr Mbae’s younger brother Albert Micheni is however in mourning. “My brother may have committed crimes but he needed to be arrested and prosecuted. I believe the police eliminated him,” he said.

Heir to Akasha drug empire Yusuf Swaleh found dead days after ‘abduction’

Monday, March 18, 2024

Drug baron Yusuf Ahmed Swaleh, alias Candy Rain or Kandereni , the man said to have inherited the Akasha drug empire at Kenya’s Coast, has been executed under mysterious circumstances.

Swaleh’s body was discovered at Kiruwitu near Vipingo in Kilifi on Sunday, nine days after he was allegedly picked up by individuals who identified themselves as police for interrogation.

Coast regional police bosses remained tight-lipped on the matter on Sunday but on Monday, Kilifi South County Commander Daniel Kitavi said the body of an unknown male was found dumped in Kiruwitu.

“We received information yesterday morning. The body had a visible injury on the head. The matter is under investigation. We are yet to know the identity of the deceased,” he said 

However, Swaleh’s lawyer Jared Magolo was categorical that his client was killed shortly after being taken in for questioning.

“Yes. They killed him. His body was found in Kilifi. He was arrested on Friday, nine days ago,” Mr Magolo stated in a text message.

At the time of his death, Swaleh was battling several criminal charges linked to a multi-million-shilling drug trafficking and money laundering operation in Coast.

On October 26, 2018, he was charged at the Jomo Kenyatta International Airport Law Courts in Nairobi with trafficking 91,738 grammes of heroin valued at Sh275,214,000.

He was charged alongside Fatuma Ahmed with “trafficking by storing” heroin, which police found hidden in suitcases and a gunny bag in Kikambala, Kilifi County.

In 2010, Swaleh was jailed for 25 years for trafficking five kilogrammes of heroin, while in 2011 and 2013, he was separately charged at the Mombasa Law Courts with trafficking drugs, but he won both cases and walked free. 

He was first convicted and sentenced to 15 years’ imprisonment in 1996 for trafficking in heroin. He sent to Shimo La Tewa Prison in Mombasa.

On March 8, 2023, Swaleh was jailed for 10 years after he was found guilty of money laundering.

This was after he and his wife Asma Abdalla Mohamed were found to have engaged in an agreement to buy four motor vehicles worth Sh7.6 million on February 4, 2017 using proceeds of drug trafficking.

Court records show that the convicts purchased two vehicles within months and paid Sh6.2 million with a view of concealing the source of the said money.

Swaleh’s death marks the end of an era for a man who was eager to take over Ibrahim Akasha’s drug empire after his sons, Baktash Akasha and Ibrahim Akasha, were extradited to the US to face drug trafficking charges.

They were later sentenced to 25 and 23 years in prison, respectively.

Swaleh had become the new face of drug trafficking on the Coast, as evidenced by the number of drug cases and the value of the substances he was accused of trafficking.

The fallen baron, who had previously been imprisoned, was, on several occasions, mysteriously released from prison despite his conviction.

How he managed to regain his freedom again and again baffled many, including security agents at the Coast.

The deceased is the first notorious drug trafficking suspect to be killed during President William Ruto’s Kenya Kwanza administration.

It comes despite assurances from Dr Ruto that his government would not tolerate extrajudicial killings as it believed in the rule of law and justice for all.

Swaleh’s murder also comes just a month after the national government, led by Deputy President Rigathi Gachagua, declared a crackdown on drug trafficking on the Coast.